Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an American psychologist, author, inventor, and considered one of the founders of the school of behaviorism. He attended Hamilton College and Harvard University, where he received his PhD in psychology. Skinner made several inventions including the operant conditioning chamber, also known as the Skinner Box. He taught at several universities and published numerous books and papers, establishing his theories of radical behaviorism and operant conditioning. Skinner argued that human behavior and actions are functions of their consequences in the environment. He remained an influential figure in psychology until his death in 1990.

1. Burrhus Frederic Skinner
by: Jose Radin L. Garduque

2. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
o Personal
Background, Educ
ation, Career, Stu
dies, Family, Teach
ing Career, Other
Works, Death
o Inventions
o Legacies

3. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Personal Background
BF Skinner was born in
Susquehanna, Pennsylv
ania to William and
Grace Skinner. He
became an atheist
when his Christian
teacher tried to assuage
his fear of hell
described by his
grandmother.

4. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Education
He attended the Hamilton
College in New York
where he became a
member of Lambda Chi
Alpha and a writer for
the school paper.

5. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Career
After finishing his B.A. in
English Literature, he
attended the Harvard
University where he
made an invention
called the Skinner Box.

6. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Studies
His encounter with John B.
Watson’s Behaviourism
led him to a graduate
study in psychology. In
1931, he received a
Ph.D. from Harvard and
remained there as a
researcher until 1936.

7. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Family
In the same year, Skinner
married Yvonne Blue
and had two
daughters, Julie and
Deborah.

8. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Teaching Career
He then taught at the
University of Minnesota
and later at Indiana
University where he
became the chair of
psychology department
from 1946-47.

9. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Teaching Career
The following year,
Skinner returned to
Harvard as a professor
and remained there for
the rest of his life.

10. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Other Works
In 1973, he became one of
the signers of Humanist
Manifesto II. During his
lifetime, he wrote 21
books and made 6
inventions.

11. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Death
BF Skinner died of
leukemia on August
18, 1990 and is buried
in Massachusetts.

12. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Inventions
Air Crib – an easily
cleaned, temperature
and humidity-controlled
crib designed to assist
in raising babies

13. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Inventions
Operant Conditioning
Chamber/Skinner Box –
designed to measure
responses of organisms
and their orderly
interactions with the
environment

14. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Inventions
Cumulative Recorder – an
instrument used to
automatically record
behaviour graphically

15. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Inventions
Verbal Summator – a
device for discovering
latent speech

16. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Inventions
Pigeon-guided Missile – a
missile with three
compartments encasing
a pigeon in each

17. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Inventions
Teaching Machine - a
mechanical device used
to administer a
curriculum of
programmed
instruction

18. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Legacies
Radical Behaviorism – the
philosophy of the
science of behaviour
which seeks to
understand behaviour
as a function of
environmental histories
of reinforcing
consequences

19. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Legacies
Schedules of
Reinforcement – it can
be interval (fixed or
variable) and ratio
(fixed or variable)

20. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Legacies
Behaviorism in Education
– brings students’
behaviour under the
control of the
environment

21. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Legacies
Walden Two – a book that
discourages
war, competition and
social strife

22. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Legacies
Verbal Behavior - an
attempt to extend a
new, functional, inducti
ve approach to the
complexity of human
behaviour

23. Burrhus Frederic Skinner:
Legacies
Beyond Freedom and
Dignity – a book that
suggests that
technology of behaviour
could help make a
better society

24. Burrhus Frederic Skinner
A Report in Soc. Sci. 412
(Understanding Human
Behavior) under Dr. Vima
Olivares in Filamer
Christian University,
Roxas City, Philippines
(Summer 2014)