Mike Tyson Case Study

There is no doubt that Mike Tyson has had his highs and lows in life. Kane is a libertarian and would say that if Tyson had a choice or made a decision at any point, then he is ultimately responsible for all of his actions, because there was a time when he could have chosen a different path (Kane). Kane refers to these times when we play a role in our fate as self-forming actions SFA’s. On the other hand behaviorists would say that all of Tyson’s actions can be explained by outside forces and trained behavior, making him not responsible at all (Behavior). Some of the main events in his life are his behavior as a child, especially his first fight, his winning the heavy weight champion title, and his addiction to cocaine. The question is whether …show more content…
Kane would say that there is a possibility that he may not have had a choice to win the fight but that something he had done earlier in life brought him to this point. Maybe his SFA was his choice to change his attitude in reform school, or possibly his decision to listen and trust Cus, which was very hard for him; it also could have been his choice to hit the man who killed his pigeon, but whatever the true reason, Tyson is responsible for his title. After Tyson knocked out his rival, during his first fight, the whole street applauded, and behaviorists, like Skinner would say that this is positive reinforcement and caused him to be more inclined to repeat this fighting behavior again. He also experienced positive reinforcement from Bobby Stewart, a retired boxer who worked at his reform school who saw something in him saying “I want to bring you to see this legendary boxing trainer Cus D’Amato. He can take you to the next level.” (My Life as a Young Thug). Cus also gave Tyson positive reinforcement by giving him a place to stay, food, complements to boost his confidence, and very good training (Toback). Just like little Albert was trained to have an irrational fear of furry things by John B. Watson, Tyson was trained to have an irrational ferocity towards everything and everyone, by Cus, in order to make him a better boxer. All of these factors …show more content…
Behaviorists would say that Tyson was completely influenced by his environment and surroundings and that nothing came from his own self. Behaviorists like B. F. Skinner and John B. Watson believe that any and all behaviors can be leaned with the right kind of training and conditioning, allowing Tyson to escape responsibility for his actions. In my opinion I feel that there is no real clear-cut answer. I feel that Tyson was born with raw talent that most people do not posses, and I believe luck or fate played a roll when he met Bobby at his reform school, who referred him to Cus. I also feel Tyson chose to focus on boxing and made a conscious decision to change his life completely in order to be great. Generally, I feel that Mike Tyson carries the responsibility for his actions, and that he made the choice to do all of the things he did, good and bad. Although, he has had some very bad experiences in his life that may have influenced his actions, I feel that he has had plenty of chances to turn his life around and make the right choices, and has shone that he has the capacity and understanding to do