Match the boys

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Matching The Boys in the Lord of Flies with the Experiments in the Book Opening Skinner’s Box
Opening skinner’s box is a book made of various psychological experiments that seek to explain the mental and social performance of people. The book used several experiments that psychologist in the twentieth century believed would bridge the gap between the known and the unknown in the psychological field. While some of the experiments and the theories discussed in the book focus more on behavior change, others expound on the medical aspects of psychology, as they were known in the twentieth century. The experiments have been of great use in the advancement of psychological studies because they are the basis of the twenty-first-century psychology theories. Additionally, the experiments and theories presented in the book have been quite useful in analyzing different situations in the world especially those touching on social psychology. The change in the behavior of the boys in the lord of flies after their plane crashes on the island is an ideal situation to analyze using some of the experiments discussed in opening skinner’s box (Golding 15). Although the boys try to maintain decency by setting up rules and regulations to follow while on the island, the desire to remain civilized for most of the boys fades away as time progresses.
Various people will attribute the change in the boys’ behavior to various issues. However, it is clear that lack of parental guidance and mature people oversight had a great contribution to the evil acts committed by the boys.

In life, people learn to differentiate the wrong things from the right ones by observing others and by responding to the consequences attached to each act (Walker and Posner 3). A behavior that is often rewarded is thought to be good and children repeat these acts until they become part of their character. On the other hand, punishment helps to prevent the evil desires of the children from coming to the surface. The argument of rewards and punishments is consistent with the operant conditioning chamber experiment in the book opening skinner’s box. Here, Skinner argues that a reinforced behavior is bound to grow while habits that are not given attention fade away (Slater 56). Positive reinforcements, negative reinforcements, and punishment are some of the things that contribute greatly to shaping the behavior of people both young and old.
In the case of the boys on the island, the absence of punishment for bad behavior brings to surface the worst characters of the boys. Order is observed for a period when Raph is elected the leader of the boys in the island (Golding 41). However, as the time goes by, the other boys under the leadership of Jack realize that Raph has no real authority to punish them thus leading to the rebellious activities. On the other hand, when Jack wants the other boys to join his savagery group, he uses both reward and punishment to attract his colleagues to his group. He promises the boys that he would allow them to have fun and provide food if they join his team while those that show rebelliousness towards his course are imprisoned. In his camp, Jack keeps one of the boys tied up and uses him to threaten the other boys that their fate would be similar to that of the tied boy if they choose to desert him in favor of Raph (Golding 229). Jack and his team believe that allowing the small boys to hunt and swim will add to their tribe and killing those who refuse the offer would motivate others to obey.
The boys’ behavior can also be explained using the Stanley Milgram’s obedience theory that asserts that people’s behavior change based on the authority imposed on them (Slater 93). In other words, people go along with some acts as an act of obedience to the present authority, although they might not be comfortable with actions. The boys follow the leadership of Jack especially on how to track animals down and kill them not out of will but out of coercion (Golding 156). He uses the availability of food for the obedient kids and the punishment for those who disobey as a coercive force to make the kids follow his bad behaviors. On the other hand, Raph and the twin boys refuse to take part in the evil acts of the savage tribe, confirming the Milgram’s theory that some people have the capacity to refuse to go along with certain habits to get along. In the end, Raph is left all alone after Jack imprisons the twins and Piggy is killed (Golding 266). Even at that time, Raph did not conform to the habits of the many; he remains loyal to his course and beliefs.
The behavior of the boys is as highly affected by the environment as much as it is affected by the presence of reinforcements and punishments. Both external and internal factors play a big role in determining the behavior of each of the boys in the island. External factors such as the environment, the lack of mature leadership as well as punishment and rewards among other things play a major role in shaping the behavior of the boys. Both Milgram’s obedience experiment and operant conditioning chamber agree at varying degrees that rewards and punishment contribute to behavior shaping in the society (Slater 108). According to the social cognitive theory, the environmental, behavioral, and personal factors interact with one another to form the character of a person (Walker and Posner 7). The imbalance in any of the factors will definitely affect the stability of a person’s character, thus bringing about new habits like the evil and savagery behaviors exhibited by the British boys who were once civilized kids. The environment in which the boys find themselves influenced their behavior. Personal thoughts such as those exhibited by the boys of an external threat in the form of a beast also trigger their actions especially the accidental murder of Simon. While the savage boys justify the killing of their college by calling it an accident, Raph, and piggy feel guilty for participating in the act (Golding 209). The different feelings shown by the boys after the death of Simon are in line with the obedience theory’s assertions that people exhibit varied attitudes towards an evil act committed.
All human beings have the capacity to be good and bad depending on various aspects that influence their behavior. Both external and internal factors have a considerable impact on behavioral changes. The transition of the boys in the book of flies from civilized British kids to savages is a clear indication that evil resides in every person’s heart but rewards and punishments help to keep evil at bay. Milgram’s obedience experiment and the operant conditioning chamber are some of the theories in the book opening skinner’s box that clearly describe the situation of the boys in the island.

Works Cited
Golding, William. Lord of the flies. London: Faber and Faber, 2012. Print.
Slater, Lauren. Opening Skinner’s Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century. London: Bloomsbury Paperbacks, 2016. Print.
Walker, Gretchen, and Amy Posner. “Using social cognitive theory to predict behavior”. Journal of undergraduate research at Minnesota state university, Mankato 3.7 (2014): 1-11. Print.