Skinner developed behavior analysis, especially the philosophy of radical behaviorism, and founded the experimental analysis of behavior, a school of experimental research psychology. He also used operant conditioning to strengthen behavior, considering the rate of response to be the most effective measure of response strength. To study operant conditioning, he invented the operant conditioning chamber (aka the Skinner box), and to measure rate he invented the cumulative recorder. Using these tools, he and Charles Ferster produced Skinner's most influential experimental work, outlined in their 1957 book Schedules of Reinforcement.
Life and Career
Skinner was a prolific author, publishing 21 books and 180 articles. He imagined the application of his ideas to the design of a human community in his 1948 utopian novel, Walden Two, while his analysis of human behavior culminated in his 1958 work, Verbal Behavior.
Skinner, John B. Watson, and Ivan Pavlov are considered to be the pioneers of modern behaviorism. A June 2002 survey listed Skinner as the most influential psychologist of the 20th century.
Key Facts
- Born: March 20, 1904 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Died: 1990
- Field: Philosophy
- Awards: National Medal of Science (1968)
Legacy and Impact
The influence of Burrhus Frederic Skinner extends far beyond his own lifetime. He fundamentally shaped human thought and intellectual discourse, and his ideas and philosophical frameworks remain foundational to this day.
Though he passed away in 1990, his ideas continue to be studied, debated, and built upon by scholars and practitioners worldwide.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner remains one of the most celebrated minds to emerge from United States, a testament to the rich intellectual heritage of the region.
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