Early Life
Born on March 20th, 1904, in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.
B.F. Skinner
He earned his B.A. in English Literature from this New York college in 1926.
Hamilton College.
This famous box demonstrated how reinforcement works using rats pressing levers for food.
The Skinner Box
Skinner joined the faculty of this prestigious university in 1948 and remained there for decades.
Harvard University.
His core belief: behaviour is shaped and maintained by these.
Consequences.
William, a lawyer, and Grace, a Homemaker.
B.F. Skinner's parents.
Mentored by this famous poet.
Robert Frost.
This U.S. military project used pigeons to steer missiles through reinforcement.
Project Pigeon.
He received this top American scientific honour in the biological sciences.
National Medal of Science.
His studies emphasize the use of these to influence behaviour.
Reinforcements and punishments.
Skinner's younger brother, Edward, tragically died at this age.
16
After reading Palov and Watson while working in a bookstore, he shifted to this new field.
Psychology.
His "Air Crib" invention aimed to keep infants comfortable but drew public criticism.
The Baby Tender
He was named Humanist of the Year this year.
1972
The theory stating that reinforcements and punishments affect our behaviour.
Operant Conditioning.
As a boy, Skinner loved doing this. These activities were tied to his later work in inventive psychology.
Building and inventing things.
He earned his Ph.D. from this Ivy League university in 1931.
Harvard University.
This machine gave students instant feedback and inspired modern computer-based learning.
The Teaching Box.
He was diagnosed with this illness in 1989.
Leukemia.
The term he coined for behaviour not caused by a stimulus but by the consequence of the behaviour.
Superstitious behaviour.
The philosopher whose ideas about scientific reasoning inspired Skinner in high school.
Francis Bacon
His first teaching position was at this Midwestern university.
University of Minnesota.
His auditory version of the Rorschach test was an early attempt to explore subconscious thoughts through sounds.
Verbal Summator.
He finished writing his final APA article on the same day he died - this date in 1990
August 18th, 1990
He argued that proper teaching requires shaping behaviour through sequential steps and reinforcement.
Applied behaviour analysis/behaviourist teaching methods.