Florencia Iglesias

Burrhus Frederic Skinner

Burrhus Frederic Skinner is known for his contributions to the field of behaviorism. B.F.
Skinner was influenced by different psychologists, to further develop the field of behaviorism.
Skinner made many contributions to behaviorism, and even though behaviorism is no longer the
dominant school of thought, many of its techniques are still being used today, such as operant
conditioning. Operant conditioning is used by mental professionals, teachers, and animal trainers
among others. BF Skinner was one of the greatest contributors to the field of psychology, for his
work with behaviorism, and operant conditioning.
B.F. Skinner was born on March 20, 1904 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. Skinner
attended Hamilton College, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in 1926
(Cherry). After graduating Skinner moved to Greenwich Village in New York, and soon realized
that his career as a writer wasnt going as planned. He soon began reading articles on
behaviorism and conditioned reflexes writing by Bertrand Russell, John B. Watson, and Ivan
Petrovich Pavlov, respectively. With his new found interest in psychology, Skinner began
studying psychology at Harvard University, and graduated with a Ph.D. in 1931. In 1936,
Skinner married Yvonne Blue and began teaching at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
During his stay in Minneapolis, Skinner wrote his first book, The Behavior of Organisms: An
Experimental Analysis, in 1938 (Encyclopdia Britannica). Seven years later, B.F. Skinner
became the chair of the psychology department for the University of Indiana. After three years,
in 1948, Skinner returned to Harvard University, where he spent the rest of his life as a professor.
In 1948, he also wrote Walden II, one of his most controversial novels. Yvonne Blue and B.F.

Skinner had two daughters, Julie and Deborah (Cherry). Deborah would later be known as the
Baby in the Box (Ward). B.F. Skinner passed away on August 18, 1990 from leukemia. He is
buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
B.F. Skinner had many ideas which he contributed to psychology, specifically to the field
of behaviorism. Skinner introduced the concepts of reinforcement and operant conditioning
(Rathus). Reinforcement is the main idea behind operant condition. In operant conditioning,
people or animals learn to do certain tasks by learning from the consequences of their actions
(Rathus 135-36). Behaviors that produce positive consequences, such as studying for a test and
then getting an A, will lead to the increased performance of that behavior. But if the behavior
produces a negative consequence, not studying for a test and failing, then the behavior will likely
not be repeated. In operant conditioning it does not matter why the subject first responds in the
behavior that will be reinforced. B.F. developed a weapon for World War II, called Project
Pigeon. The idea behind Project Pigeon was that pigeons could be trained using operant
conditioning to guide missiles to targets. The pigeons would receive food for pecking targets on a
screen. Once they learnt this, they would then be placed in missiles to peck at targets on a screen
to change the direction of the missile so as to hit a real target. The Pigeon Project was ultimately
discarded but the principles that Skinner used still remains (Rathus 136).
Reinforcement is about teaching certain behaviors by positively rewarding the subject.
For example, Skinner created an animal cage that when a lever within the cage was pushed, food
would drop inside. This cage has become known as the Skinner box (Rathus 136). When a rat
is first placed in the box, it sniffs around and eventually, the rat accidentally pushes the lever
which causes food pellets to drop inside. The rat would then begin to press the lever frequently.
The Skinner box demonstrates the principle of reinforcement. A stimulus (the food pellets)

increases the chances that the preceding behavior (the lever pressing) will occur (Rathus 136).
The Skinner box has been used during pharmaceutical research to observe how drugs can modify
animal behavior (Encyclopdia Britannica).
Programmed learning was born from the research Skinner conducted with animals
by teaching them through reinforcement. Skinner conceived the teaching machine to achieve the
goals of programmed learning (Encyclopdia Britannica). Programmed learning is an
educational method in which the basis is to shape the mind. The concept of programmed learning
is that any task can be broken down into small steps (Rathus 144). The teaching machine would
present a subject in different steps. In each step, the student must make a decision of some kind,
for example answering a question. If the student is correct, he advances to the next step. If the
student is incorrect, he must repeat the step until they have it correct. There is no one to go back,
only forward. In programmed learning, the student is not punished for being incorrect, but rather
is awarded for being correct. This is the concept of reinforcement. The learning machine
reinforces correct answers. All students will at the end earn 100 percent.
B.F. Skinner was a behaviorist who believed that peoples and animals behaviors can be
shaped through reinforcement. The work that Skinner has conducted with rats in the Skinner box
and the Pigeon Project, among others, has a great impact on the field of psychology. Mental
health professionals use operant conditioning when they are working with their clients. Animal
trainers and teachers use reinforcements to encourage certain behaviors and discourage less
desirable behaviors. Animals specifically rely on reinforcements to train dogs and other animals.
I decided to base my research paper on B.F. Skinners work because of my interest in
reinforcements, and how I can apply certain technics to train my pet dog. Skinner emphasizes
that punishing for doing something wrong does not get very good results. For example, scolding

my dog for doing his necessities in the house does not get as positive results as reinforcing good
behavior. For example, when I praised my dog for doing his necessities outside, he eventually
learnt to go outside even though I had stopped giving him rewards. The latter method was much
more effective and quicker than the scolding method.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner made many contributions to psychology, some more influential
and valid than others. Operant conditioning and reinforcement were the most important
contributions Skinner made to psychology, as well as the Skinner box, the method of
programmed learning, and the Pigeon Project. These inventions made a breakthrough in society
and were the birth place of theories and procedures that are still being used today. B.F. Skinner
said in his 1948 novel Walden Two:
The choice is clear. Either we do nothing and allow a miserable and probably catastrophic
future to overtake us, or we use our knowledge of human behavior to create a social
environment in which we shall live productive and creative lives, and do so without
jeopardizing the chances that those who follow us will be able to do the same.
That is what Skinner was able to accomplish through his work with operant conditioning, a better
world for those that come after us.

Bibliography
"B.F. Skinner". Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online.
Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 14 Aug. 2012
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/547663/BF-Skinner>.
Cherry, Kendra. "B. F. Skinner Biography." Psychology - Complete Guide to Psychology for
Students, Educators & Enthusiasts. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2012.
<http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_skinner.htm>.
Rathus, Spencer A.. Psychology, principles in practice. Austin, Tex.: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston :, 1998. Print.
Ward, Olivia. "Marking the birth of a pioneer." Toronto Star 20 Mar. 2004, sec. News: A14.
EBSCOhost. Web. 14 Aug. 2012.