Biography of Burrhus Frederic Skinner Essays - 1329 Words

Burrhus Frederic Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born in a small town called Susquehanna, Pennsylvania on March 20, 1904. His dad was a lawyer and his mom was a house wife. Skinner was the typical boy, he enjoyed playing outside and to build things. He created many inventions as a kid. He and a friend made a cabin in the woods and Skinner created a cart with backwards steering. When working for a shoe store he thought of and invention that helped the broom pick up dust. Skinner also invented a flotation system for a door to door business that would sell berries. The flotation system separated the ripe berries from the bad. Skinner also enjoyed school very much. He even dedicated a book later in life to his English teacher Miss†¦show more content†¦This time Skinner went to Harvard to get a degree in Psychology. Skinner who was a twenty-four year old who was rebellious and impatient when it came to what he thought were unintelligent ideas found a mentor in William Crozie r. Crozier was the new chair of the Physiology department and Skinner thought he was as intelligent and hard driven as himself. Crozier let Skinner study the behavior of the animal as a whole including what was going on the inside, which is what Skinner wanted. Skinner wanted to relate the behavior to the conditions of the experiment. Crozier encouraged Skinner to experiment. Every time the Skinner’s rat’s behavior changed he would build a new apparatus for them. This is where he discovered what he named operant conditioning. As he studied the rat’s he discovered that the rate at which they pressed a bar down depended on what happened afterwards. This was the opposite of Pavlov and Watson’s theories who talked about the reaction happening because of stimulates beforehand. In 1936 Skinner received his Doctorate in Psychology and moved to Minnesota to teach at the University of Minnesota. He met Yvonne Blue there and married her. Between raising a family a nd teaching Skinner was not able to do much work studying and experimenting with behavior. In 1944 World War Two was in full swing and Skinner was able to work on his behavior experiments. He was hired to work on a top secret government project. Skinner had aShow MoreRelatedNotes On Childhood And Background1204 Words   |  5 PagesB.F. Skinner Childhood and Background Burrhus Frederic Skinner (B.F. Skinner) was born on March 20, 1904 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania (Boeree, n.d., para. 1). Skinner’s father was a lawyer while his mother stayed home to care for Skinner and his siblings. Interest in building contraptions and gadgets was shown by Skinner at an early age (Kaiga, C. (2012, July 2). Academic Essays on Simple topics. Retrieved October 19, 2014.). He spent much of his childhood building various machines and devicesRead MoreB.F. Skinners Contribution to Psychology1488 Words   |  6 Pagespsychology? This man shows us with his groundbreaking theories, inventions and experiments as well as his over 200 books and articles on the field of psychology. He is Burrhus Frederic Skinner and he is one of the reasons psychology is the profound and crucial science that it is today. (New World Encyclopedia contributors, 2008) B.F. Skinner was born in 1904 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. His early life consisted of his efforts to become a fictional writer. He attended Hamilton College where he receivedRead MoreBehaviorism : A Psychological Perspective1018 Words   |  5 Pagesan association can be made between desired behaviors and desired stimulants as well as unwanted behaviors and aversive stimulants.†(Kelley Prince, 2013) Operant conditioning was first practiced by behaviorist Burrhus Frederic Skinner and his operant conditioning chamber known as the â€Å"Skinner Box†. (Wikipedia, 2015) This laboratory apparatus was used to study animal behavior. If a rat were to move a lever on right, the rat would receive food, but if the rat were to move a lever on the left, it wouldRead MoreLearning Theory Behaviorism Essay example2973 Words   |  12 Pages THE LEARNING THEORY BEHAVIORISM: BEHAVIORIST GORDON ALLPORT AND BURRHUS SKINNER INTRODUCTION The behavoristic approach has exerted a strong influence on American Psychology. The basic ideas of behaviorism are: human behavior is a product of the Stimulus-Response interaction and that behavior is modifiable. It has triggered scientific experiments and the use of statistical procedures. Most importantly, it has turned the attention of psychology to solving real behavior related problems