B.F. Skinner's Life, Theories, and Influence on Psychology

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsContributionsOperant ConditioningInventionsBiographyAwards and RecognitionsPublications

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Table of Contents

Contributions

Operant Conditioning

Inventions

Biography

Awards and Recognitions

Publications

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B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) was an American psychologist known for his impact onbehaviorism. In a 2002 survey of psychologists, he was identified as the most influential psychologist of the 20th century.

Skinner himself referred to his philosophy as “radical behaviorism.” He suggested that the concept of free will was simply an illusion and, instead, believed that all human action was the direct result of conditioning.

At a GlanceB.F. Skinner’s influence on psychology, education, and mental health is without question. His work played a major role in the dominance of behaviorism during the first half of the 20th century, and his theories continue to impact areas including education, psychotherapy, early childhood learning, parenting, dog training, and employee training.

At a Glance

B.F. Skinner’s influence on psychology, education, and mental health is without question. His work played a major role in the dominance of behaviorism during the first half of the 20th century, and his theories continue to impact areas including education, psychotherapy, early childhood learning, parenting, dog training, and employee training.

Keep reading to learn more about Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning, his numerous inventions and publications, and his biography to better understand why Skinner was such a significant force in psychology.

B.F. Skinner’s Contributions to Psychology

Skinner’s most notable discoveries or contributions to the field ofpsychologyinclude:

B.F. Skinner also proposed that emotions could be translated into a person’s predisposition to act in specific ways. For example, if someone experiences anger toward someone else, they are more likely to exhibit behaviors such as yelling at the other person or maybe even physically acting out against them.

Skinner’s remarkable legacy has left a lasting mark on psychology and numerous other fields, ranging from philosophy to education. While behaviorism is no longer adominant school of thought, his contributions remain vital today.

For instance, mental health professionals often utilize Skinner’s operant techniques when working with clients. Teachers also frequently use reinforcement to shape behavior in the classroom. Even animal trainers rely heavily on B.F. Skinner’s techniques to train dogs and other animals.

B.F. Skinner’s Theory of Learning: Operant Conditioning

According to B.F. Skinner’s theory of learning, our behaviors are developed or conditioned through reinforcements. He referred to this process asoperant conditioning. The term ‘operant’ refers to any behavior that acts on the environment and leads to consequences.

Operant behaviors (actions under our control) differ from respondent behaviors. Skinner described respondent behaviors as anything that occurs reflexively or automatically—such as jerking your hand back when you accidentally touch a hot pan.

Skinner’s ABCs of BehaviorismB.F. Skinner’s theory of learning says that a person is first exposed to a stimulus, which elicits a response, and the response is then reinforced (stimulus, response, reinforcement). This, ultimately, is what conditions our behaviors.To make this process easier to remember, the ABCs of behaviorism were developed. The ABCs are antecedent (stimulus), behavior (response), and consequence (reinforcement).

Skinner’s ABCs of Behaviorism

B.F. Skinner’s theory of learning says that a person is first exposed to a stimulus, which elicits a response, and the response is then reinforced (stimulus, response, reinforcement). This, ultimately, is what conditions our behaviors.To make this process easier to remember, the ABCs of behaviorism were developed. The ABCs are antecedent (stimulus), behavior (response), and consequence (reinforcement).

B.F. Skinner’s theory of learning says that a person is first exposed to a stimulus, which elicits a response, and the response is then reinforced (stimulus, response, reinforcement). This, ultimately, is what conditions our behaviors.

To make this process easier to remember, the ABCs of behaviorism were developed. The ABCs are antecedent (stimulus), behavior (response), and consequence (reinforcement).

Reinforcement

In B.F. Skinner’s theory of learning, reinforcement plays a critical role in behavior development.Reinforcementis any event that strengthens a certain behavior and it can be positive or negative in nature.

Schedules of Reinforcement

Skinner further describedschedules of reinforcementin his operant conditioning research. These schedules determine when specific behaviors are reinforced (either based on the number of responses or time) and impact how strong a learned behavior becomes.

Skinner’s four schedules of reinforcement are:

Punishment

Punishmentcan also play a role in the learning process, according to B.F. Skinner. Punishment is described as the application of an adverse outcome in an effort to decrease or weaken a specific behavior.

Punishment may involve presenting a negative reinforcer—such as a spanking, scolding, or the imposition of a prison sentence—which some refer to aspositive punishment. Or it can involve the removal of a positive reinforcer, such as taking away a favorite toy, also known as anegative punishment.

B.F. Skinner’s Inventions

Skinner Box

During his time at Harvard, B.F. Skinner became interested in studyinghuman behaviorin an objective and scientific way. He developed what he referred to as an operant conditioning apparatus, which later become known as a Skinner box.

TheSkinner boxwas a chamber that contained a bar or key that an animal could press in order to receive food, water, or some other form of reinforcement. Pigeons and rats were often utilized as subjects in studies using this device.

Cumulative Recorder

It was also during his time at Harvard that B.F. Skinner invented the cumulative recorder, a device that recorded responses as a sloped line. In looking at the slope of the line (which indicated the rate of response), Skinner saw that response rates depended upon what happened after the animal pressed the bar.

That is, higher response rates followed rewards while lower response rates followed a lack of rewards. The cumulative recorder device also allowed Skinner to see that the schedule of reinforcement influenced the rate of response.

Using this device, B.F. Skinner found that behavior did not depend on the preceding stimulus asJohn B. WatsonandIvan Pavlovmaintained. Instead, behaviors were dependent on what happensafterthe response. Skinner called this operant behavior.

Teaching Machine

After attending his daughter’s math class in 1953, B.F. Skinner also developed an interest in education and teaching. During these appearances, he noted that none of the students in the class received any type of immediate feedback on their performance.

Some students struggled and were unable to complete the problems, while others finished quickly but really didn’t learn anything new. Skinner believed that the best approach would be to create a device that would shape behavior, offering incremental feedback until the desired response was achieved.

B.F. Skinner created a math teaching machine that offered immediate feedback after each problem. Although the initial device did not actually teach new skills, eventually, Skinner was able to develop a machine that delivered incremental feedback and presented the material in a series of small steps until students acquired new skills, a process known as programmed instruction.

Skinner later published a collection of his writings on teaching and education titled “The Technology of Teaching.”

Biography of B.F. Skinner

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born on March 20, 1904, and raised in the small town of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. His father was a lawyer, and his mother a homemaker. He grew up with a brother who was two years his junior. Unfortunately, his younger brother Edward died at the age of 16 due to a cerebral hemorrhage.

B.F. Skinner later described his Pennsylvania childhood as “warm and stable.” As a boy, he enjoyed building and inventing things—a skill he would later use in his ownpsychological experiments.

While known professionally as B.F. Skinner, his friends called him Fred.

Writer to Psychologist

During high school, Skinner started to develop an interest in scientific reasoning, from his extensive study of the works of Francis Bacon. He went on to receive a BA in English literature in 1926 from Hamilton College.

After earning his undergraduate degree, in a period of his life that he would later refer to as the “dark year,” B.F. Skinner decided to become a writer. During this time, he wrote a dozen short newspaper articles and quickly grew disillusioned with his literary talents, despite receiving some encouragement and mentorship from the famed poet Robert Frost.

Early Career

After receiving his PhD from Harvard in 1931, Skinner continued to work at the university for the next five years, thanks to a fellowship. During this time, he continued his research on operant behavior and operant conditioning. He married Yvonne Blue in 1936, and the couple went on to have two daughters, Julie and Deborah.

Project PigeonIn “Project Pigeon,” as it was called, pigeons were placed in the nose cone of a missile and trained to peck at a target that would direct the missile toward its intended target. Although Skinner had considerable success working with the pigeons, the project never came to fruition since radar development was underway.

Project Pigeon

In “Project Pigeon,” as it was called, pigeons were placed in the nose cone of a missile and trained to peck at a target that would direct the missile toward its intended target. Although Skinner had considerable success working with the pigeons, the project never came to fruition since radar development was underway.

The project was eventually canceled. However, it did lead to some interesting findings, and Skinner was even able to teach the pigeons to play ping-pong.

Later Life and Career

In 1945, Skinner moved to Bloomington, Indiana, and became the Psychology Department Chair at the University of Indiana. In 1948, he joined the psychology department at Harvard University, where he kept an office even after his retirement in 1974.

Drawing on his former literary career, Skinner presented many of his theoretical ideas through fiction. In his 1948 book “Walden Two,” he described a fictional utopian society in which people were trained to become ideal citizens through operant conditioning.

His 1971 bookBeyond Freedom and Dignitymade B.F. Skinner a lightning rod for controversy since his work seemed to imply that humans did not truly possess free will. His 1974 bookAbout Behaviorismwas written, in part, to dispel many of the rumors about his theories and research.

B.F. Skinner’s Awards and Recognitions

Among the many recognitions that B.F. Skinner received were:

B.F. Skinner’s Publications

Skinner was a prolific author, publishing nearly 200 articles and more than 20 books. His research and writing quickly made him one of the leaders of the behaviorist movement in psychology. His work also contributed immensely to the development ofexperimental psychology.

Some of Skinner’s publications include:

Takeaways

B.F. Skinner was a powerful force in the field of psychology. His theories were highly influential, but some of his work generated controversy, including his belief that all human behavior stems from conditioning processes.

You can still see the effects of his theories today. Modern uses for operant conditioning are all around us, such as in rewards programs that encourage good behaviors andtherapeutic techniqueslike contingency management, token economies, behavior modeling, and extinction.

2 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.B. F. Skinner Foundation.Biographical information.B. F. Skinner Foundation.Pigeon ping pong clip. YouTube.Additional ReadingBjork DW.B.F. Skinner: A Life. Am Psychol Assoc. 1997. doi:10.1037/10130-000Skinner BF.Why We Need Teaching Machines.Harvard Educ Rev. 1961:31:377–398.Skinner BF.The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis.

2 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.B. F. Skinner Foundation.Biographical information.B. F. Skinner Foundation.Pigeon ping pong clip. YouTube.Additional ReadingBjork DW.B.F. Skinner: A Life. Am Psychol Assoc. 1997. doi:10.1037/10130-000Skinner BF.Why We Need Teaching Machines.Harvard Educ Rev. 1961:31:377–398.Skinner BF.The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

B. F. Skinner Foundation.Biographical information.B. F. Skinner Foundation.Pigeon ping pong clip. YouTube.

B. F. Skinner Foundation.Biographical information.

B. F. Skinner Foundation.Pigeon ping pong clip. YouTube.

Bjork DW.B.F. Skinner: A Life. Am Psychol Assoc. 1997. doi:10.1037/10130-000Skinner BF.Why We Need Teaching Machines.Harvard Educ Rev. 1961:31:377–398.Skinner BF.The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis.

Bjork DW.B.F. Skinner: A Life. Am Psychol Assoc. 1997. doi:10.1037/10130-000

Skinner BF.Why We Need Teaching Machines.Harvard Educ Rev. 1961:31:377–398.

Skinner BF.The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis.

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