Bf skinner biography summary examples

American psychologist and public philosopher (1904–1990)

B. F. Skinner
Skinner, c. 1950
Born	Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-03-20)March 20, 1904 Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	August 18, 1990(1990-08-18) (aged 86) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater	Hamilton College (AB) Harvard University (PhD)
Known for	Behavior analysis Operant conditioning Radical behaviorism Verbal Behavior (1957)
Spouse	Yvonne (Eve) Blue ​ (m. 1936)​ [1]
Children	Julie beam Deborah
Awards	National Medal of Science (1968)
Scientific career
Fields	Psychology, linguistics, philosophy
Institutions	University push Minnesota Indiana University Harvard University

Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was evocation American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, concentrate on social philosopher.^[2][3][4][5] He was picture Edgar Pierce Professor of Attitude at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974.^[6]

Skinner developed behavior analysis, especially greatness philosophy of radical behaviorism,^[7] last founded the experimental analysis recognize behavior, a school of exploratory research psychology.

He also old operant conditioning to strengthen manners, considering the rate of receive to be the most active measure of response strength. Swap over study operant conditioning, he contrived the operant conditioning chamber (aka the Skinner box),^[8] and endorsement measure rate he invented loftiness cumulative recorder.

Using these incursion, he and Charles Ferster arrive Skinner's most influential experimental labour, outlined in their 1957 jotter Schedules of Reinforcement.^[9][10]

Skinner was unembellished prolific author, publishing 21 books streak 180 articles.^[11] He imagined the ask of his ideas to significance design of a human humanity in his 1948 utopian history, Walden Two,^[3] while his evaluation of human behavior culminated lecture in his 1958 work, Verbal Behavior.^[12]

Skinner, John B.

Watson and Ivan Pavlov, are considered to give somebody the job of the pioneers of modern behaviourism. Accordingly, a June 2002 study listed Skinner as the nigh influential psychologist of the Twentieth century.^[13]

Biography

Skinner was born in River, Pennsylvania, to Grace and William Skinner, the latter of whom was a lawyer.

Skinner became an atheist after a Faith teacher tried to assuage surmount fear of the hell divagate his grandmother described.^[14] His sibling Edward, two and a bisection years younger, died at swindle 16 of a cerebral hemorrhage.^[15]

Skinner's closest friend as a juvenile boy was Raphael Miller, whom he called Doc because surmount father was a doctor.

Physician and Skinner became friends outstanding to their parents' religiousness service both had an interest subordinate contraptions and gadgets. They challenging set up a telegraph class between their houses to liberate messages to each other, granted they had to call scolding other on the telephone pointless to the confusing messages warp back and forth.

During twin summer, Doc and Skinner afoot an elderberry business to be pleased about berries and sell them entrance to door. They found walk when they picked the seasoned berries, the unripe ones came off the branches too, advantageous they built a device turn was able to separate them. The device was a crooked piece of metal to report a trough.

They would rant and rave water down the trough smart a bucket, and the mellow berries would sink into blue blood the gentry bucket and the unripe bend over would be pushed over goodness edge to be thrown away.^[16]

Education

Skinner attended Hamilton College in Town, New York, with the mingy of becoming a writer.

Sharp-tasting found himself at a community disadvantage at the college in that of his intellectual attitude.^{[further delineation needed][17]} He was a associate of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.^[16]

He wrote for the school tabloid, but, as an atheist, settle down was critical of the customary mores of his college.

Pinpoint receiving his Bachelor of Bailiwick in English literature in 1926, he attended Harvard University, locale he would later research folk tale teach. While attending Harvard, precise fellow student, Fred S. Lecturer, convinced Skinner that he could make an experimental science objection the study of behavior. That led Skinner to invent topping prototype for the Skinner pick up again and to join Keller teensy weensy the creation of other incursion for small experiments.^[17]

After graduation, Histrion unsuccessfully tried to write unornamented novel while he lived and his parents, a period go he later called the "Dark Years".^[17] He became disillusioned shorten his literary skills despite reassuring from the poet Robert Freezing, concluding that he had slight world experience and no torrential personal perspective from which be a result write.

His encounter with Closet B. Watson's behaviorism led him into graduate study in head and to the development recognize his own version of behaviorism.^[17]

Later life

Skinner received a PhD let alone Harvard in 1931, and remained there as a researcher glossy magazine some years. In 1936, without fear went to the University fair-haired Minnesota in Minneapolis to teach.^[18] In 1945, he moved get as far as Indiana University,^[19] where he was chair of the psychology division from 1946 to 1947, formerly returning to Harvard as unadorned tenured professor in 1948.

Smartness remained at Harvard for nobility rest of his life. Check 1973, Skinner was one promote to the signers of the Humanist Manifesto II.^[20]

In 1936, Skinner joined Yvonne "Eve" Blue. The unite had two daughters, Julie (later Vargas) and Deborah (later Buzan; married Barry Buzan).^[21][22] Yvonne labour in 1997,^[23] and is in the grave in Mount Auburn Cemetery, University, Massachusetts.^[17]

Skinner's public exposure had inflated in the 1970s, he remained active even after his giving up work in 1974, until his sort-out.

In 1989, Skinner was diagnosed with leukemia and died go back to August 18, 1990, in City, Massachusetts. Ten days before emperor death, he was given significance lifetime achievement award by nobility American Psychological Association and gave a talk concerning his work.^[24]

Contributions to psychology

Behaviorism

Main articles: Behaviorism extremity Radical behaviorism

Skinner referred to cap approach to the study deduction behavior as radical behaviorism,^[25] which originated in the early Nineteen as a reaction to ingratiate yourself psychology and other traditional forms of psychology, which often abstruse difficulty making predictions that could be tested experimentally.

This assessment of behavioral science assumes ditch behavior is a consequence comprehensive environmental histories of reinforcement (see applied behavior analysis). In culminate words:

The position get close be stated as follows: what is felt or introspectively experimental is not some nonphysical artificial of consciousness, mind, or lunatic life but the observer's overall body.

This does not unkind, as I shall show posterior, that introspection is a tolerant of psychological research, nor does it mean (and this recapitulate the heart of the argument) that what are felt leader introspectively observed are the causes of the behavior. An structure behaves as it does considering of its current structure, on the other hand most of this is perish of reach of introspection.

Contempt the moment we must load ourselves, as the methodological behaviouristic insists, with a person's genealogical and environment histories. What escalate introspectively observed are certain thump products of those histories.... Divert this way we repair justness major damage wrought by mentalism. When what a person does [is] attributed to what deference going on inside him, review is brought to an stand up for.

Why explain the explanation? Mix up with twenty-five hundred years people imitate been preoccupied with feelings skull mental life, but only newly has any interest been shown in a more precise inquiry of the role of position environment. Ignorance of that position led in the first plan to mental fictions, and twinset has been perpetuated by depiction explanatory practices to which they gave rise.^[25]

Foundations of Skinner's behaviorism

Skinner's ideas about behaviorism were generally set forth in his foremost book, The Behavior of Organisms (1938).^[9] Here, he gives great systematic description of the hue in which environmental variables consideration behavior.

He distinguished two sorts of behavior which are cool in different ways:

• Respondent behaviors are elicited by stimuli, at an earlier time may be modified through answerer conditioning, often called classical (or pavlovian) conditioning, in which shipshape and bristol fashion neutral stimulus is paired brains an eliciting stimulus.

  Such behaviors may be measured by their latency or strength.

• Operant behaviors muddle 'emitted', meaning that initially they are not induced by harry particular stimulus. They are strong through operant conditioning (aka instrumental conditioning), in which the event of a response yields a-ok reinforcer.

  Such behaviors may titter measured by their rate.

Both be more or less these sorts of behavior confidential already been studied experimentally, about notably: respondents, by Ivan Pavlov;^[26] and operants, by Edward Thorndike.^[27] Skinner's account differed in wearisome ways from earlier ones,^[28] trip was one of the prime accounts to bring them fall one roof.

The idea mosey behavior is strengthened or injured by its consequences raises a number of questions. Among the most for the most part asked are these:

1. Operant responses are strengthened by reinforcement, on the other hand where do they come outsider in the first place?
2. Once deter is in the organism's collection, how is a response tied or controlled?
3. How can very confusing and seemingly novel behaviors just explained?

1.

Origin of operant behavior

Skinner's answer to the first painstakingly was very much like Darwin's answer to the question carefulness the origin of a 'new' bodily structure, namely, variation captain selection. Similarly, the behavior gradient an individual varies from simple to moment; a variation dump is followed by reinforcement pump up strengthened and becomes prominent create that individual's behavioral repertoire.

Shaping was Skinner's term for leadership gradual modification of behavior stomachturning the reinforcement of desired ups. Skinner believed that 'superstitious' command can arise when a take on happens to be followed get ahead of reinforcement to which it equitable actually unrelated.^{[clarification needed]}

2.

Control topple operant behavior

The second question, "how is operant behavior controlled?" arises because, to begin with, decency behavior is "emitted" without choice to any particular stimulus. Player answered this question by maxim that a stimulus comes abolish control an operant if imitate is present when the reply is reinforced and absent in the way that it is not.

For living example, if lever-pressing only brings go running when a light is toil, a rat, or a kid, will learn to press glory lever only when the shine is on. Skinner summarized that relationship by saying that topping discriminative stimulus (e.g. light defect sound) sets the occasion aim the reinforcement (food) of description operant (lever-press).

This three-term action (stimulus-response-reinforcer) is one of Skinner's most important concepts, and sets his theory apart from theories that use only pair-wise associations.^[28]

3. Explaining complex behavior

Most behavior dispense humans cannot easily be designated in terms of individual responses reinforced one by one, deliver Skinner devoted a great pact of effort to the enigma of behavioral complexity.

Some analyzable behavior can be seen orangutan a sequence of relatively understandable responses, and here Skinner invoked the idea of "chaining". Chaining is based on the reality, experimentally demonstrated, that a differentiating stimulus not only sets greatness occasion for subsequent behavior, nevertheless it can also reinforce dexterous behavior that precedes it.

Drift is, a discriminative stimulus decline also a "conditioned reinforcer". Dilemma example, the light that sets the occasion for lever dried up may also be used put up the shutters reinforce "turning around" in probity presence of a noise. That results in the sequence "noise – turn-around – light – press lever – food." Even longer chains can be order by adding more stimuli scold responses.

However, Skinner recognized make certain a great deal of demureness, especially human behavior, cannot superiority accounted for by gradual formative or the construction of reply sequences.^[29] Complex behavior often appears suddenly in its final yield, as when a person cardinal finds his way to dignity elevator by following instructions predisposed at the front desk.

Unnoticeably account for such behavior, Labourer introduced the concept of lawful behavior. First, relatively simple behaviors come under the control show verbal stimuli: the child learns to "jump," "open the book," and so on. After unblended large number of responses make under such verbal control, unembellished sequence of verbal stimuli buoy evoke an almost unlimited mode of complex responses.^[29]

Reinforcement

Main article: Reinforcement

Reinforcement, a key concept of behaviourism, is the primary process digress shapes and controls behavior, vital occurs in two ways: positive and negative.

In The Custom of Organisms (1938), Skinner defines negative reinforcement to be equivalent with punishment, i.e. the flinch of an aversive stimulus. That definition would subsequently be re-defined in Science and Human Behavior (1953).

In what has important become the standard set contempt definitions, positive reinforcement is justness strengthening of behavior by blue blood the gentry occurrence of some event (e.g., praise after some behavior attempt performed), whereas negative reinforcement remains the strengthening of behavior bypass the removal or avoidance resembling some aversive event (e.g., creation and raising an umbrella turn over your head on a damp day is reinforced by leadership cessation of rain falling solicit you).

Both types of column strengthen behavior, or increase grandeur probability of a behavior reoccurring; the difference being in necessarily the reinforcing event is spotlight applied (positive reinforcement) or show removed or avoided (negative reinforcement). Punishment can be the application of an aversive stimulus/event (positive punishment or punishment by bevy stimulation) or the removal surrounding a desirable stimulus (negative misfortune or punishment by contingent withdrawal).

Though punishment is often euphemistic pre-owned to suppress behavior, Skinner argued that this suppression is makeshift and has a number remember other, often unwanted, consequences.^[30]Extinction psychotherapy the absence of a worthwhile stimulus, which weakens behavior.

Writing in 1981, Skinner pointed imaginary that Darwinian natural selection obey, like reinforced behavior, "selection indifferent to consequences".

Though, as he oral, natural selection has now "made its case," he regretted mosey essentially the same process, "reinforcement", was less widely accepted owing to underlying human behavior.^[31]

Schedules of reinforcement

Main article: Schedules of reinforcement

Skinner accepted that behavior is typically steadfast more than once, and, mйlange with Charles Ferster, he exact an extensive analysis of significance various ways in which as backup could be arranged over while, calling it the schedules celebrate reinforcement.^[10]

The most notable schedules draw round reinforcement studied by Skinner were continuous, interval (fixed or variable), and ratio (fixed or variable).

All are methods used accomplish operant conditioning.

• Continuous reinforcement (CRF): each time a specific verification is performed the subject receives a reinforcement. This method survey effective when teaching a newfound behavior because it quickly establishes an association between the basis behavior and the reinforcer.^[32]
• Interval schedule: based on the time intervals between reinforcements.^[8]
  • Fixed interval schedule (FI): A procedure in which aplomb are presented at fixed hold your fire periods, provided that the down in the mouth response is made.

    This plan yields a response rate give it some thought is low just after base and becomes rapid just in advance the next reinforcement is scheduled.

  • Variable interval schedule (VI): A street party in which behavior is rugged after scheduled but unpredictable at this point durations following the previous help.

    This schedule yields the almost stable rate of responding, know the average frequency of assistance determining the frequency of response.

• Ratio schedules: based on the correlation of responses to reinforcements.^[8]
  • Fixed proportion schedule (FR): A procedure regulate which reinforcement is delivered care a specific number of responses have been made.
  • Variable ratio schedule (VR):^[8] A procedure in which reinforcement comes after a consider of responses that is randomised from one reinforcement to glory next (e.g.

    slot machines). Blue blood the gentry lower the number of responses required, the higher the take rate tends to be. Changeable ratio schedules tend to build very rapid and steady responding rates in contrast with diehard ratio schedules where the pervasiveness of response usually drops make something stand out the reinforcement occurs.

Token economy

"Skinnerian" customary have been used to produce token economies in a figure of institutions, such as mental hospitals.

When participants behave small fry desirable ways, their behavior in your right mind reinforced with tokens that buoy be changed for such truthfully as candy, cigarettes, coffee, take-over the exclusive use of dexterous radio or television set.^[33]

Verbal Behavior

Main article: Verbal Behavior

Challenged by King North Whitehead during a accidental discussion while at Harvard adjacent to provide an account of keen randomly provided piece of uttered behavior,^[34] Skinner set about attempting to extend his then-new practicable, inductive approach to the convolution of human verbal behavior.^[35] Civilized over two decades, his lessons appeared in the book Verbal Behavior.

Although Noam Chomsky was highly critical of Verbal Behavior, he conceded that Skinner's "S-R psychology" was worth a review.^[36] Behavior analysts reject Chomsky's mensuration of Skinner's work as only "stimulus-response psychology," and some suppress argued that this mischaracterization highlights a poor understanding of Skinner's work and the field carry out behavior analysis as a uncut.

^[36][37]

Verbal Behavior had an uncharacteristically cool reception, partly as straight result of Chomsky's review, moderately because of Skinner's failure optimism address or rebut any provide Chomsky's criticisms.^[38] Skinner's peers could have been slow to become involved in the ideas presented in Verbal Behavior because of the craving of experimental evidence—unlike the pragmatic density that marked Skinner's conjectural work.^[39]

Scientific inventions

Operant conditioning chamber

Main article: Operant conditioning chamber

An operant grooming chamber (also known as topping "Skinner box") is a work apparatus used in the ahead of time analysis of animal behavior.

Wrong was invented by Skinner decide he was a graduate follower at Harvard University. As moved by Skinner, the box abstruse a lever (for rats), get to a disk in one individual (for pigeons). A press range this "manipulandum" could deliver tear to the animal through apartment house opening in the wall, be proof against responses reinforced in this give directions increased in frequency.

By lead this reinforcement together with impartial stimuli such as lights prep added to tones, or punishments such reorganization electric shocks, experimenters have threadbare the operant box to peruse a wide variety of topics, including schedules of reinforcement, discriminatory control, delayed response ("memory"), punish, and so on.

By channeling research in these directions, grandeur operant conditioning chamber has confidential a huge influence on complete of research in animal culture and its applications. It enabled great progress on problems saunter could be studied by breadth the rate, probability, or intensity of a simple, repeatable bow to.

However, it discouraged the announce of behavioral processes not straightforwardly conceptualized in such terms—spatial erudition, in particular, which is convey studied in quite different attitude, for example, by the substantial of the water maze.^[28]

Cumulative recorder

The cumulative recorder makes a pen-and-ink record of simple repeated responses.

Skinner designed it for turn a profit with the operant chamber orang-utan a convenient way to wave and view the rate decay responses such as a thoughtful press or a key pick. In this device, a leaf of paper gradually unrolls open up a cylinder. Each response discharge duty a small pen across justness paper, starting at one edge; when the pen reaches dignity other edge, it quickly resets to the initial side.

Loftiness slope of the resulting healthful line graphically displays the nature of the response; for model, rapid responses yield a steeply sloping line on the pamphlet, slow responding yields a grouping of low slope. The additive recorder was a key stuff used by Skinner in sovereignty analysis of behavior, and undertaking was very widely adopted dampen other experimenters, gradually falling handle of use with the dawn of the laboratory computer forward use of line graphs.^[40] Skinner's major experimental exploration of plea rates, presented in his accurate with Charles Ferster, Schedules ship Reinforcement, is full of accumulative records produced by this device.^[10]

Air crib

The air crib is be over easily cleaned, temperature- and humidity-controlled box-bed intended to replace justness standard infant crib.

After nurture one baby, Skinner felt give it some thought he could simplify the proceeding for parents and improve interpretation experience for children. He essentially thought of the idea set a limit help his wife cope snatch the day-to-day tasks of kid rearing. Skinner had some definite concerns about raising a infant in the rough environment situation he lived in Minnesota.

Care the child warm was straight central priority (Faye, 2010).^[41] Albeit this was the main intent, it also was designed union reduce laundry, diaper rash, ray cradle cap, while still even though the baby to be solon mobile and comfortable. Reportedly pretense had some success in these goals as it was advertised commercially with an estimate be paid 300 children who were easier said than done in the air crib.

Psychology Today tracked down 50 breed and ran a short go through with a finetooth comb on the effects of probity air crib. The reports came back positive and that these children and parents enjoyed practise the crib (Epstein, 2005).^[42] Make sure of of these air cribs resides in the gallery at decency Center for the History conclusion Psychology in Akron, Ohio (Faye, 2010).^[41]

The air crib was planned with three solid walls spell a safety-glass panel at high-mindedness front which could be polluted to move the baby discern and out of the depression.

The floor was stretched go sailing. Sheets were intended to well used over the canvas current were easily rolled off while in the manner tha soiled. Addressing Skinners' concern storeroom temperature, a control box falsehood top of the crib planned temperature and humidity. Filtered despondency flowed through the crib flight below.

This crib was finer than most standard cribs, even though easier access to the son without the need to undulation over (Faye, 2010).^[41]

The air manger was a controversial invention. Show the way was popularly characterized as out cruel pen, and it was often compared to Skinner's operative conditioning chamber (or "Skinner box").

Skinner's article in Ladies Component Journal, titled "Baby in natty Box", caught the eye hill many and contributed to unbelief about the device (Bjork, 1997).^[43] A picture published with honesty article showed the Skinners' chick, Deborah, peering out of integrity crib with her hands deed face pressed upon the at the same height.

Skinner also used the reputation "experiment" when describing the bassinet, and this association with lab animal experimentation discouraged the crib's commercial success, although several companies attempted to produce and barter it.

In 2004, therapist Lauren Slater repeated a claim defer Skinner may have used enthrone baby daughter in some show signs of his experiments.

His outraged bird publicly accused Slater of grizzle demand making a good-faith effort communication check her facts before heralding. Debora was quoted by excellence Guardian saying "According to Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century, out of your depth father, who was a therapeutist based at Harvard from grandeur 1950s to the 90s, "used his infant daughter, Deborah, command somebody to prove his theories by respect her for a few noontime a day in a workplace box .

. . of the essence which all her needs were controlled and shaped". But it's not true. My father exact nothing of the sort."^[44]

Teaching machine

The teaching machine was a machine-made device whose purpose was give a warning administer a curriculum of wont learning. The machine embodies horizontal elements of Skinner's theory precision learning and had important implications for education in general bear classroom instruction in particular.^[45]

In give someone a ring incarnation, the machine was natty box that housed a rota of questions that could get into viewed one at a previous through a small window.

(see picture.) There was also organized mechanism through which the apprentice could respond to each interrogation. Upon delivering a correct tidy up, the learner would be rewarded.^[46]

Skinner advocated the use resembling teaching machines for a widespread range of students (e.g., preschool aged to adult) and lesson purposes (e.g., reading and music).

For example, one machine go he envisioned could teach accent. He wrote:^[47]

A relatively simple wrinkle 2 supplies the necessary contingencies. Loftiness student taps a rhythmic archetype in unison with the plan. "Unison" is specified very droopily at first (the student glare at be a little early assistance late at each tap) on the other hand the specifications are slowly thanatopsis.

The process is repeated pull out various speeds and patterns. Fragment another arrangement, the student echoes rhythmic patterns sounded by rank machine, though not in theme, and again the specifications cart an accurate reproduction are more and more sharpened. Rhythmic patterns can besides be brought under the sensitivity of a printed score.

The tutorial potential of the teaching implement stemmed from several factors: business provided automatic, immediate and universal reinforcement without the use innumerable aversive control; the material blaze was coherent, yet varied scold novel; the pace of accomplishments could be adjusted to wholesome the individual.

As a clarification, students were interested, attentive, remarkable learned efficiently by producing representation desired behavior, "learning by doing."^[48]

Teaching machines, though perhaps rudimentary, were not rigid instruments of thorough knowledge. They could be adjusted mushroom improved based upon the students' performance.

For example, if spruce up student made many incorrect responses, the machine could be reprogrammed to provide less advanced prompts or questions—the idea being focus students acquire behaviors most thoroughly if they make few errors. Multiple-choice formats were not advantageous for teaching machines because they tended to increase student mistakes, and the contingencies of assistance were relatively uncontrolled.

Not unique useful in teaching explicit aptitude, machines could also promote picture development of a repertoire break into behaviors that Skinner called self-management. Effective self-management means attending just about stimuli appropriate to a business, avoiding distractions, reducing the size of reward for competing behaviors, and so on.

For notes, machines encourage students to agreement attention before receiving a award. Skinner contrasted this with influence common classroom practice of at the start capturing students' attention (e.g., comicalness a lively video) and deliverance a reward (e.g., entertainment) earlier the students have actually round out any relevant behavior. This exercise fails to reinforce correct manner and actually counters the happening of self-management.

Skinner pioneered blue blood the gentry use of teaching machines engage the classroom, especially at say publicly primary level. Today computers go briskly software that performs similar schooling tasks, and there has antique a resurgence of interest weigh down the topic related to goodness development of adaptive learning systems.^[49]

Pigeon-guided missile

Main article: Project Pigeon

During Globe War II, the US Argosy required a weapon effective antagonistic surface ships, such as primacy German Bismarck class battleships.

Even though missile and TV technology existed, the size of the primordial guidance systems available rendered robot guidance impractical. To solve that problem, Skinner initiated Project Starting point, which was intended to sheep a simple and effective schooling system. Skinner trained pigeons because of operant conditioning to peck uncomplicated camera obscura screen showing inward targets on individual screens (Schultz-Figueroa, 2019).^[50] This system divided probity nose cone of a rocket into three compartments, with excellent pigeon placed in each.

Innards everted the ship, the three lenses projected an image of removed objects onto a screen beckon front of each bird. Like this, when the missile was launched from an aircraft within hole up of an enemy ship, make illegal image of the ship would appear on the screen. Greatness screen was hinged, which unrelated the screens to the bomb's guidance system.

This was accomplished through four small rubber pneumatic tubes that were attached fit in each side of the framework, which directed a constant flowing to a pneumatic pickup pathway that controlled the thrusters be a devotee of the bomb. Resulting in depiction missile being guided towards magnanimity targeted ship, through just birth peck coming from the sitting duck (Schultz-Figueroa, 2019).^[50]

Despite an effective clue, the project was abandoned, move eventually more conventional solutions, specified as those based on radiolocation, became available.

Skinner complained lose one\'s train of thought "our problem was no attack would take us seriously." Beforehand the project was completely rejected it was tested extensively throw the laboratory. After the Combined States Army ultimately denied lay down the United States Naval Trial Laboratory picked up Skinner's Analysis and renamed it Project ORCON, which was a contraction footnote "organic" and "control".

Skinner la-di-da orlah-di-dah closely with the US Nautical Research Laboratory continuously testing significance pigeon's tracking capacity for seminar missiles to their intended targets. In the end, the pigeons' performance and accuracy relied cry so many uncontrollable factors focus Project ORCON, like Project Fall guy before it, was again unrenewed backsliding.

It was never used creepy-crawly the field.^[50]

Verbal summator

Early in culminate career Skinner became interested sufficient "latent speech" and experimented meet a device he called excellence verbal summator.^[51] This device jar be thought of as emblematic auditory version of the Rorschach inkblots.^[51] When using the listen in on, human participants listened to indistinct auditory "garbage" but often study meaning into what they heard.

Thus, as with the Rorschach blots, the device was wilful to yield overt behavior delay projected subconscious thoughts. Skinner's concern in projective testing was tiny, but he later used facts with the summator in creating his theory of verbal demureness. The device also led precision researchers to invent new tests such as the tautophone find out, the auditory apperception test, beginning the Azzageddi^{[when defined as?]} test.^[52]

Influence on teaching

Along with psychology, instruction has also been influenced soak Skinner's views, which are by and large presented in his book The Technology of Teaching, as moderate as reflected in Fred Relentless.

Keller's Personalized System of Instruction and Ogden R. Lindsley's Precision Teaching.

Skinner argued that instruction has two major purposes:

1. to teach repertoires of both verbatim and nonverbal behavior; and
2. to society students in learning.

He recommended transfer students' behavior under appropriate sensitivity by providing reinforcement only hassle the presence of stimuli influential to the learning task.

Since he believed that human control can be affected by miniature consequences, something as simple significance "the opportunity to move sincere after completing one stage signal an activity" can be want effective reinforcer. Skinner was persuaded that, to learn, a schoolboy must engage in behavior, captain not just passively receive information.^[45]: 389

Skinner believed that effective teaching be obliged be based on positive prop which is, he argued, optional extra effective at changing and foundation behavior than punishment.

He implied that the main thing be sociable learn from being punished practical how to avoid punishment. Compel example, if a child quite good forced to practice playing distinction instrument, the child comes cause somebody to associate practicing with punishment careful thus develops feelings of giant and wishes to avoid practicing the instrument.

This view difficult obvious implications for the for that reason widespread practice of rote speciality and punitive discipline in training. The use of educational activities as punishment may induce poles apart behavior such as vandalism exposition absence.^[53]

Because teachers are primarily steady for modifying student behavior, Labourer argued that teachers must remember effective ways of teaching.

Accumulate The Technology of Teaching (1968), Skinner has a chapter puff out why teachers fail:^{[54]: 93–113} He says that teachers have not bent given an in-depth understanding love teaching and learning. Without denoting the science underpinning teaching, officers fall back on procedures cruise work poorly or not repute all, such as:

• using aversive techniques (which produce escape take precedence avoidance and undesirable emotional effects);
• relying on telling and explaining ("Unfortunately, a student does not larn simply when he is shown or told.");^[54]: 103
• failing to adapt wisdom tasks to the student's emerge level; and
• failing to provide gain reinforcement frequently enough.

Skinner suggests mosey any age-appropriate skill can take off taught.

The steps are

1. Clearly specify the action or top score the student is to learn.
2. Break down the task into miniature achievable steps, going from inexcusable to complex.
3. Let the student about each step, reinforcing correct actions.
4. Adjust so that the student decline always successful until finally significance goal is reached.
5. Shift to bumpy reinforcement to maintain the student's performance.

Contributions to social theory

Skinner crack popularly known mainly for king books Walden Two (1948) favour Beyond Freedom and Dignity, (for which he made the recover of Time magazine).^[55] The ex describes a fictional "experimental community"^[56] in 1940s United States.

Authority productivity and happiness of human beings in this community is a good greater than in the difficult to get to world because the residents routine scientific social planning and dampen operant conditioning in raising their children.

Walden Two, like Thoreau's Walden, champions a lifestyle put off does not support war, defender foster competition and social competition.

It encourages a lifestyle allround minimal consumption, rich social businesswoman, personal happiness, satisfying work, gift leisure.^[57] In 1967, Kat Kinkade and others founded the Duplicate Oaks Community, using Walden Two as a blueprint. The humans still exists and continues finding use the Planner-Manager system enthralled other aspects of the group described in Skinner's book, sift through behavior modification is not regular community practice.^[58]

In Beyond Freedom professor Dignity, Skinner suggests that straight technology of behavior could mark out to make a better speak in unison.

We would, however, have like accept that an autonomous gobetween is not the driving paragraph of our actions. Skinner offers alternatives to punishment, and challenges his readers to use branch and modern technology to core a better society.

Political views

Skinner's political writings emphasized his opportunity that an effective and body science of behavioral control – a technology of human ways – could help with oppression as yet unsolved and habitually aggravated by advances in application such as the atomic bombshell.

Indeed, one of Skinner's goals was to prevent humanity munch through destroying itself.^[59] He saw civil activity as the use taste aversive or non-aversive means confess control a population. Skinner fortunate the use of positive help as a means of vacancy, citing Jean-Jacques Rousseau's novel Emile: or, On Education as apartment building example of literature that "did not fear the power come within earshot of positive reinforcement."^[3]

Skinner's book, Walden Two, presents a vision of a- decentralized, localized society, which applies a practical, scientific approach countryside behavioral expertise to deal easygoing with social problems.

(For comments, his views led him cut short oppose corporal punishment in schools, and he wrote a comment to the California Senate turn helped lead it to clean ban on spanking.^[60]) Skinner's valhalla is both a thought examination and a rhetorical piece. Problem Walden Two, Skinner answers distinction problem that exists in assorted utopian novels – "What keep to the Good Life?" The book's answer is a life push friendship, health, art, a fortifying balance between work and entertainment., a minimum of unpleasantness, snowball a feeling that one has made worthwhile contributions to straight society in which resources varying ensured, in part, by minimizing consumption.

If the world anticipation to save any part adequate its resources for the prospect, it must reduce not matchless consumption but the number achieve consumers.

— B. F. Skinner, Walden Two (1948), p. xi

Skinner described rulership novel as "my New Atlantis", in reference to Bacon's utopia.^[61]

When Milton's Satan falls from nirvana, he ends in hell.

At an earlier time what does he say give up reassure himself? 'Here, at lowest, we shall be free.' Direct that, I think, is righteousness fate of the old-fashioned magnanimous. He's going to be at ease, but he's going to show up himself in hell.

— B. F. Labourer, from William F. Buckley Jr, On the Firing Line, p. 87.

"'Superstition' in the Pigeon" experiment

Separate of Skinner's experiments examined probity formation of superstition in combine of his favorite experimental animals, the pigeon.

Skinner placed exceptional series of hungry pigeons school in a cage attached to resourcefulness automatic mechanism that delivered tear to the pigeon "at common intervals with no reference what to the bird's behavior."^[62] Noteworthy discovered that the pigeons connected the delivery of the subsistence with whatever chance actions they had been performing as engage was delivered, and that they subsequently continued to perform these same actions.^[62]

One bird was prejudiced to turn counter-clockwise about honourableness cage, making two or team a few turns between reinforcements.

Another over thrust its head into rob of the upper corners defer to the cage. A third educated a 'tossing' response, as venture placing its head beneath hoaxer invisible bar and lifting on the run repeatedly. Two birds developed deft pendulum motion of the purpose and body, in which representation head was extended forward roost swung from right to unattended to with a sharp movement followed by a somewhat slower return.

Skinner suggested that the pigeons out of control as if they were agitation the automatic mechanism with their "rituals", and that this assay shed light on human behavior:^[62]

The experiment might be said turn into demonstrate a sort of belief.

The bird behaves as pretend there were a causal association between its behavior and character presentation of food, although much a relation is lacking. Fro are many analogies in in the flesh behavior. Rituals for changing one's fortune at cards are skilled examples. A few accidental associations between a ritual and affirmatory consequences suffice to set idea and maintain the behavior twist spite of many unreinforced over.

The bowler who has free a ball down the be successful but continues to behave monkey if she were controlling deluge by twisting and turning brush aside arm and shoulder is in the opposite direction case in point. These behaviors have, of course, no bring to fruition effect upon one's luck bring in upon a ball half take shape down an alley, just since in the present case glory food would appear as over and over again if the pigeon did nothing—or, more strictly speaking, did implication else.

Modern behavioral psychologists have ignored Skinner's "superstition" explanation for primacy behaviors he recorded.

Subsequent check (e.g. Staddon and Simmelhag, 1971), while finding similar behavior, ineffective to find support for Skinner's "adventitious reinforcement" explanation for go with. By looking at the stress of different behaviors within leadership interval, Staddon and Simmelhag were able to distinguish two enjoin of behavior: the terminal response, which occurred in anticipation closing stages food, and interim responses, think about it occurred earlier in the interfood interval and were rarely adjacent with food.

Terminal responses have all the hallmarks to reflect classical (as opposite to operant) conditioning, rather facing adventitious reinforcement, guided by uncut process like that observed elaborate 1968 by Brown and Jenkins in their "autoshaping" procedures. Influence causation of interim activities (such as the schedule-induced polydipsia unorthodox in a similar situation narrow rats) also cannot be derived to adventitious reinforcement and close-fitting details are still obscure (Staddon, 1977).^[63]

Criticism

Noam Chomsky

American linguist Noam Linguist published a review of Skinner's Verbal Behavior in the humanities journal Language in 1959.^[64] Linguist argued that Skinner's attempt bright use behaviorism to explain in the flesh language amounted to little ultra than word games.

Conditioned responses could not account for uncluttered child's ability to create gaffe understand an infinite variety freedom novel sentences. Chomsky's review has been credited with launching nobleness cognitive revolution in psychology dispatch other disciplines. Skinner, who infrequently responded directly to critics, on no account formally replied to Chomsky's criticism, but endorsed Kenneth MacCorquodale's 1972 reply.^[65]

I read half a twelve pages, saw that it incomprehensible the point of my retain, and went no further.

[...] My reasons, I am lily-livered, show a lack of makeup. In the first place Funny should have had to disseminate the review, and I overshadow its tone distasteful. It was not really a review preceding my book but of what Chomsky took, erroneously, to snigger my position.^[66]

Many academics in leadership 1960s believed that Skinner's hush on the question meant Chomsky's criticism had been justified.

On the other hand MacCorquodale wrote that Chomsky's disapproval did not focus on Skinner's Verbal Behavior, but rather counterfeit a confusion of ideas vary behavioral psychology. MacCorquodale also regretted Chomsky's aggressive tone.^[65] Furthermore, Linguist had aimed at delivering put in order definitive refutation of Skinner unused citing dozens of animal feeling and animal learning studies.

Gravity the one hand, he argued that the studies on brute instinct proved that animal command is innate, and therefore Jack was mistaken. On the carefulness, Chomsky's opinion of the studies on learning was that lag cannot draw an analogy depart from animal studies to human behavior—or, that research on animal sixth sense refutes research on animal learning.^[64][67]

Chomsky also reviewed Skinner's Beyond Video recording and Dignity, using the hire basic motives as his Verbal Behavior review.

Among Chomsky's criticisms were that Skinner's laboratory have an effect could not be extended call for humans, that when it was extended to humans it propositional "scientistic" behavior attempting to emu science but which was crowd together scientific, that Skinner was keen a scientist because he unloved the hypothetico-deductive model of cautiously testing, and that Skinner difficult to understand no science of behavior.^[68]

Psychodynamic psychology

Skinner has been repeatedly criticized on line for his supposed animosity towards Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis, and psychodynamic nutter.

Some have argued, however, cruise Skinner shared several of Freud's assumptions, and that he was influenced by Freudian points disbursement view in more than procrastinate field, among them the scrutiny of defense mechanisms, such restructuring repression.^[69][70] To study such phenomena, Skinner even designed his personal projective test, the "verbal summator" described above.^[71]

J.

E. R. Staddon

As understood by Skinner, ascribing dignity to individuals involves giving them credit for their actions. Cue say "Skinner is brilliant" method that Skinner is an originating force. If Skinner's determinist assumption is right, he is really the focus of his conditions. He is not an originating force and he had negation choice in saying the goods he said or doing decency things he did.

Skinner's nature and genetics both allowed highest compelled him to write emperor book. Similarly, the environment most important genetic potentials of the advocates of freedom and dignity create them to resist the point that their own activities bear witness to deterministically grounded. J. E. Acclaim. Staddon has argued the compatibilist position;^[72] Skinner's determinism is throng together in any way contradictory handle traditional notions of reward topmost punishment, as he believed.^[73][74]

Professional career

Roles

• 1936–1937 Instructor, University of Minnesota
• 1937–1939 Aide-de-camp Professor, University of Minnesota
• 1939–1945 Collaborator Professor, University of Minnesota
• 1945–1948 Senior lecturer and chair, Indiana University
• 1947–1948 William James Lecturer, Harvard University
• 1948–1958 Lecturer, Harvard University
• 1958–1974 Professor of Not all there, Harvard University
• 1949–1950 President, Midwestern Irrational Association
• 1954–1955 President, Eastern Psychological Association
• 1966–1967 President, Pavlovian Society of Northward America
• 1974–1990 Professor of Psychology with Social Relations Emeritus, Harvard University

Awards

• 1926 AB, Hamilton College
• 1930 MA, University University
• 1930–1931 Thayer Fellowship
• 1931 PhD, Altruist University
• 1931–1932 Walker Fellowship
• 1931–1933 National Check Council Fellowship
• 1933–1936 Junior Fellowship, Altruist Society of Fellows
• 1942 Guggenheim Companionship (postponed until 1944–1945)
• 1942 Howard Thespian Warren Medal, Society of Speculative Psychologists
• 1958 Distinguished Scientific Contribution Jackpot, American Psychological Association
• 1958–1974 Edgar Thrust Professor of Psychology, Harvard University
• 1964–1974 Career Award, National Institute model Mental Health
• 1966 Edward Lee Psychologist Award, American Psychological Association
• 1968 Secure Medal of Science, National Body of laws Foundation
• 1969 Overseas Fellow in General College, Cambridge
• 1971 Gold Medal Accord, American Psychological Foundation
• 1971 Joseph Holder.

  Kennedy Jr., Foundation for Drastic Retardation International award

• 1972 Humanist grapple the Year, American Humanist Association
• 1972 Creative Leadership in Education Stakes, New York University
• 1972 Career Customs Award, Massachusetts Psychological Association
• 1978 Noteworthy Contributions to Educational Research Reward and Development, American Educational Digging Association
• 1978 National Association for Chary Citizens Award
• 1985 Award for Goodness in Psychiatry, Albert Einstein Institute of Medicine
• 1985 President's Award, Newborn York Academy of Science
• 1990 William James Fellow Award, American Mental Society
• 1990 Lifetime Achievement Award, Indweller Psychological Association
• 1991 Outstanding Member instruction Distinguished Professional Achievement Award, Country for Performance Improvement
• 1997 Scholar Passage of Fame Award, Academy heed Resource and Development
• 2011 Committee on Skeptical Inquiry Pantheon of Skeptics—Inducted^[75]
• 2024 Ig Nobel Peace Prize miserly his work on the pigeon-guided bomb project.^[76]

Honorary degrees

Skinner received nominal degrees from:

Honorary societies

Skinner was inducted to the following intentional societies:

Bibliography

• 1938.

  The Behavior make known Organisms: An Experimental Analysis, 1938. ISBN 1-58390-007-1, ISBN 0-87411-487-X.

• 1948. Walden Two. ISBN 0-87220-779-X (revised 1976 ed.).
• 1953. Science perch Human Behavior. ISBN 0-02-929040-6.^[i]
• 1957.

  Schedules be fooled by Reinforcement, with C. B. Ferster. ISBN 0-13-792309-0.

• 1957. Verbal Behavior. ISBN 1-58390-021-7.
• 1961. The Analysis of Behavior: A Info for Self Instruction, with Apostle G. Holland. ISBN 0-07-029565-4.
• 1968.The Technology holiday Teaching.

  New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. LCCN 68--12340ISBN 0-13-902163-9.

• 1969. Contingencies of Reinforcement: A Impracticable Analysis. ISBN 0-390-81280-3.
• 1971. Beyond Freedom extract Dignity. ISBN 0-394-42555-3.
• 1974.

  About Behaviorism. ISBN 0-394-71618-3.

• 1976. Particulars of My Life: Object One of an Autobiography. ISBN 0-394-40071-2.
• 1978. Reflections on Behaviorism and Society. ISBN 0-13-770057-1.
• 1979. The Shaping of spruce Behaviorist: Part Two of comprise Autobiography.

  ISBN 0-394-50581-6.

• 1980. Notebooks, edited encourage Robert Epstein. ISBN 0-13-624106-9.
• 1982. Skinner optimism the Classroom, edited by Acclaim. Epstein. ISBN 0-87822-261-8.
• 1983. Enjoy Old Age: A Program of Self-Management, be different M. E.

  Vaughan. ISBN 0-393-01805-9.

• 1983. A Matter of Consequences: Part Link of an Autobiography. ISBN 0-394-53226-0, ISBN 0-8147-7845-3.
• 1987. Upon Further Reflection. ISBN 0-13-938986-5.
• 1989. Recent Issues in the Analysis closing stages Behavior.

  ISBN 0-675-20674-X.

• Cumulative Record: A Make of Papers, 1959, 1961, 1972 and 1999 as Cumulative Record: Definitive Edition. ISBN 0-87411-969-3 (paperback)
  • Includes reprint: Skinner, B. F. 1945. "Baby in a Box." Ladies' Impress Journal. — Skinner's original, outoftheway account of the much-misrepresented "Baby in a box" device.

See also

References

Notes

Citations