B.F. SKINNER was opposed to punishment, especially physical punishment. The quote from his novel "Walden Two" cited by Matthew Battles ("Shock treatment," Page C10, March 23) was said by Frazier, the main protagonist, as an example of how you could build tolerance to painful stimulation. It was not an example of punishment. Frazier specifically says, "We never administer an unpleasantness in the hope of repressing or eliminating undesirable behavior."
My father, B.F. Skinner, was opposed to punishment as a method of controlling behavior. He was especially opposed to physical punishment. When a bill to abolish corporal punishment in the public schools came up in California, he sent a letter in support of banning that kind of control.
JULIE S. VARGAS
B. F. Skinner Foundation
Cambridge
