So episode 3 of Lost finally gives us some answers at last. The island is owned by the Hanso foundation
and some sort of testing is going on there. Locke and Jack see a training video that refers to psychological experiments, and name checks BF Skinner, a Behaviourist who pioneered the concept of operant conditioning.
Operant conditioning suggests that punishment does not prevent repetition of the deviant behaviour. He suggested that reinforcement, a change in the subject’s environment is the best way to alter behaviour.For example: you give your dog food every time it sits when you tell it to. If the dog becomes more likely to sit when told to, sitting is considered to have been reinforced by the administration of food contingent on it. Note that it is the behavior that is reinforced, not the dog. The food serves as a reinforcer, reinforcing or strengthening that behavior, only to the extent that sitting subsequently occurs more often or more quickly because of it.
So what is the relevence of name checking Skinner? Well entering the code in to the computer could be construed as a Skinner-esque experiment in reinforcement, or even a kind of Milgram experiment? So is the countdown actually to prevent armageddon or is it part of a huge psychological experiment? The training video carefully avoided explaining the consequence of not pushing the button, or the significance of the 108 minutes.
Another great episode and the plot thickens even more!
