B. F. Skinner
Pioneer of operant conditioning and radical behaviorism.
From 1948 until he retired in 1974, Skinner held the position of Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University.[1] According to a survey conducted in June 2002, Skinner was ranked as the psychologist with the greatest influence during the 20th century.[2]
Quick Facts
- Born
- 20 March 1904
- Birth name
- Burrhus Frederic Skinner
- Birthplace
- Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Died
- 18 August 1990
- Place of death
- Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Field
- Psychology
- linguistics
- philosophy
- Workplaces
- University of Minnesota
- Indiana University
- Harvard University
- Education
- Hamilton College (AB); Harvard University (PhD)
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He returned to Harvard as a tenured professor in 1948 and remained there for the rest of his life.[3][4] With the goal of becoming a writer, Skinner enrolled at Hamilton College located in Clinton, New York.[5] In 1926, having earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature, Skinner then went to Harvard University.[6] A PhD from Harvard was awarded to Skinner in 1931, after which he spent several years there doing research.[3]
The philosophy of radical behaviorism and the experimental analysis of behavior were both developed by Skinner, who also created the field of behavior analysis.[7]
What the cited sources add
The University of Minnesota's history notes that Skinner's term at Minnesota was marked by unusual productivity, including The Behavior of Organisms (1938) and his utopian novel Walden Two (1948).[8] An article by Epstein reports that perhaps 300 children have been raised in Skinner-type cribs.[9] The B. F. Skinner Foundation biography notes that Skinner invented the cumulative recorder, a mechanical device that recorded every response as an upward movement of a horizontally moving line.[10] The same biography states that Skinner discovered that the rate of bar pressing depended on what followed the bar presses, not on any preceding stimulus.[10]
The same source indicates that Skinner occupied the top position (#1) in a ranking of the 100 most eminent psychologists from the 20th century.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "B. F. Skinner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smith, "B. F. Skinner and Behaviorism in American Culture", Lehigh University Press, 1996; Skinner, "Walden Two", Hackett Publishing, 2008; Skinner, "Beyond Freedom and Dignity", Vintage Books, 1972; "Skinner, Burrhus Frederic", History of Behavior Analysis; Swenson, "Burrhus Frederick Skinner", History of Psychology Archives, May 1999 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "B. F. Skinner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Haggbloom, "The 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century", Review of General Psychology, June 1, 2002, p. 139–52 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "B. F. Skinner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Establishment History", University of Minnesota; Vargas, "Biographical Information", B. F. Skinner Foundation, February 6, 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "B. F. Skinner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Humanist Manifesto II", American Humanist Association (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "B. F. Skinner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bjork, "B. F. Skinner: A Life", American Psychological Association, 2013; Skinner, "Particulars of My Life", Knopf, 1976 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "B. F. Skinner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bjork, "B. F. Skinner: A Life", American Psychological Association, 2013 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "B. F. Skinner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Skinner, "About Behaviorism", Random House, 1974 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Establishment History", University of Minnesota. facts only, no text reused. cla.umn.edu
- Epstein, "Babies in Boxes", November 1, 1995. facts only, no text reused. psychologytoday.com
- Vargas, "Biographical Information", B. F. Skinner Foundation, February 6, 2014. facts only, no text reused. bfskinner.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article B. F. Skinner (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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