B.F. Skinner

Psychologist

Born: 20 March 1904
Died: 18 August 1990
Birthplace: Susquehana, Pennsylvania
Best known as: The behaviorist who invented the Skinner Box

Name at birth: Burrhus Frederic Skinner

B.F. Skinner was one of the 20th century's most famous psychologists, known for his emphasis on behaviorism. After earning a doctorate in 1931 he built on the conditioned response theories of Ivan Pavlov. A professor at Harvard University for many years, Skinner authored several books, including The Behavior of Organisms (1938), Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971) and the novel Walden Two (1948). He developed the "air-crib," a modified crib designed to take care of infants' needs, and the Skinner box, a laboratory device for animal experimentation, designed to study responses to external stimuli.

Extra credit: The story that Skinner raised his own daughter in a box is untrue.

Copyright © 1998-2006 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.

More on B F Skinner from Fact Monster:

  • Burrhus Frederic Skinner - Skinner, Burrhus Frederic Skinner, Burrhus Frederic, 1904–90, American psychologist, b. ...
  • behaviorism - behaviorism behaviorism, school of psychology which seeks to explain animal and human behavior ...
  • behavior therapy - behavior therapy behavior therapy or behavior modification,in psychology, treatment of human ...
  • John Broadus Watson - Watson, John Broadus Watson, John Broadus, 1878–1958, American psychologist, b. Greenville, ...
  • innate ideas - innate ideas innate ideas, in philosophy, concepts present in the mind at birth as opposed to ...

Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2000–2008 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster