B.F. Skinner Overview
Burrhus Frederick Skinner
- Born in rural town of Susquehanna, PA (March 20, 1904)
- Died (August 18, 1990)
- American
- Behaviorist
- Younger brother (2 years younger than Skinner) died at 16 from cerebral aneurism
- Built and invented growing up (worked on a perpetual motion machine)
- Developed an interest for art and literature through drawing
- Later reading Shakespeare
- Married Yvonne Blue in 1936 - two daughters, Julie and Deborah
- Attended Hamilton College - small liberal arts institution - majored in English Literature/minored in Romance Languages - graduated in 1926
- Discovered the works of Watson and Pavlov - attended Harvard University
- Attended Middlebury School of English in Vermont - met Robert Frost - wrote first book (Digest of Decisions of the Anthracite Board of Conciliation)
- 1945 - Moved to Bloomington, Indiana
- 1948 - Joined the Psychology Department at Harvard University
Awards:
1966 Edward Lee Thorndike Award, American Psychological Association
1968 National Medal of Science from President Lyndon B. Johnson
1971 Gold Medal of the American Psychological Foundation
1972 Human of the Year Award
1990 Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology
- Became famous for his research on operant conditioning and negative reinforcement,
- Developed a device called the cumulative recorder
Publications:
Skinner, B. F. (1935) Two types of conditioned reflex and a pseudo type Journal of General Psychology, 12, 66-77.
Skinner, B. F. (1938) 'Superstition’ in the pigeon Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38, 168-172.
Skinner, B. F. (1950) Are theories of learning necessary? Psychological Review, 57, 193-216.
Skinner, B. F. (1971) Beyond Freedom and Dignity
Skinner, B. F. (1989) The Origins of Cognitive Thought Recent Issues in the Analysis of Behavior, Merrill Publishing
- Born in rural town of Susquehanna, PA (March 20, 1904)
- Died (August 18, 1990)
- American
- Behaviorist
- Younger brother (2 years younger than Skinner) died at 16 from cerebral aneurism
- Built and invented growing up (worked on a perpetual motion machine)
- Developed an interest for art and literature through drawing
- Later reading Shakespeare
- Married Yvonne Blue in 1936 - two daughters, Julie and Deborah
- Attended Hamilton College - small liberal arts institution - majored in English Literature/minored in Romance Languages - graduated in 1926
- Discovered the works of Watson and Pavlov - attended Harvard University
- Attended Middlebury School of English in Vermont - met Robert Frost - wrote first book (Digest of Decisions of the Anthracite Board of Conciliation)
- 1945 - Moved to Bloomington, Indiana
- 1948 - Joined the Psychology Department at Harvard University
Awards:
1966 Edward Lee Thorndike Award, American Psychological Association
1968 National Medal of Science from President Lyndon B. Johnson
1971 Gold Medal of the American Psychological Foundation
1972 Human of the Year Award
1990 Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology
- Became famous for his research on operant conditioning and negative reinforcement,
- Developed a device called the cumulative recorder
Publications:
Skinner, B. F. (1935) Two types of conditioned reflex and a pseudo type Journal of General Psychology, 12, 66-77.
Skinner, B. F. (1938) 'Superstition’ in the pigeon Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38, 168-172.
Skinner, B. F. (1950) Are theories of learning necessary? Psychological Review, 57, 193-216.
Skinner, B. F. (1971) Beyond Freedom and Dignity
Skinner, B. F. (1989) The Origins of Cognitive Thought Recent Issues in the Analysis of Behavior, Merrill Publishing