Non Christians Present A Concern For The Christian Therapist

IV(2). Should the Fact that All were Either Atheists or Non-Christians Present a Concern for the Christian Therapist? B.F. Skinner’s theory of behaviorism claims that behavior is directed by environmental reinforcements, some natural and some intentionally applied. Skinner proposed three possible consequences of any behavior: reinforcements which are consequences which increase the likelihood of behavior (such as praise or food), punishments which tend to decrease behavior (such as a frown or a traffic ticket), and the lack of reinforcement or punishment which also tends to decrease behavior (such as no response to the punch line of a joke). He also holds that reinforcers can be learned (money becomes valuable because of it s†¦show more content†¦Both Christian and non-Christian parents alike have applied these principles in the rearing of their children time after time. Skinner’s skeptical view of God and religion aside, it is both safe and useful for Christian therapists to apply the operant conditioning component to their respective practices, as long as the distinct ion between Skinner and Christianity’s view of body, mind, and spirit is established up front. Here is a good example: â€Å"We refrain from hurting others not because we know how it feels to be hurt, but because hurting other members of the species reduces the chances that the species will survive, and when we have to hurt others, we ourselves have been hurt† -B.F. Skinner According to behaviorism, behavior is strictly motivated by the evasion of negative outcomes, the pursuit of positive outcomes, and of course, behavioral responses tend to die out in the absence of any consequence/ reinforcement, whether positive or negative. Our manipulation with various reinforcers shift behavior in either direction or extinguish it altogether. Life also has countless natural reinforcers, such as survival, that we all have come to know so well through experience. From a Christian standpoint, however, we have an even greater motivation, and this is to allow the Holy