Running head: THE INFLUENCE OF B.F.

SKINNER
1

The Influence of B. F. Skinner

Greg Yang
PSYC 1113-005
Prof. Erin Brannon
1/31/2013

THE INFLUENCE OF B. F. SKINNER

The Influence of B. F. Skinner

Born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania on March 20, 1904, Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an
American psychologist and was especially influential in the study of behaviorism. He graduated
from Hamilton College and for a short time, he wanted to be a writer (Encyclopedia Britannica,
2010). Soon after he realized he had nothing to say as a writer, he was influenced by the work of
John Watson and attained a PhD in psychology from Harvard (Bjork, 2002). He has had many
contributions to psychology such as the conditioning chamber, or skinner box, and the teaching
machine (Schacter, 2011, p. 17). These inventions led Skinner to develop ideas about the many
founding principles of reinforcement and social control. He also wrote many books on
psychology and some of which received much controversy.
One of Skinners greatest inventions was the Skinner Box. It consisted of a lever and a
food tray. He placed rats in this box and they would wander around until they unintentionally
pressed a lever, which delivered food through the tray. He observed that the rat would keep
pressing this lever to retrieve food until it was no longer hungry. (Schacter, 2011)Through this
experiment, Skinner developed his idea of operant conditioning and reinforcement. This idea of
reinforcement is the result of an observable behavior or action that determines whether or not it
would likely be repeated. He concluded that since the rats realized that pressing the lever
produced food, the rat would then repeat this behavior essentially hoping for it to result in more
food (Schacter, 2011). Skinner described operant conditioning as any organism operating in
their surroundings that causes a positive or negative effect (Bjork, 2002).
In order to improve educational reform, Skinner devised a teaching machine based on
Sidney Presseys original automated drum device, which allowed students to take multiple

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choice tests by pressing buttons that revealed whether they answered correctly or incorrectly
(Bjork, 2002). Unlike Sidneys device, Skinner aimed at helping students learn by asking
questions and if answered correctly, the questions would become increasingly difficult. Skinner
believed that letting the student know whether he answered the question correctly or not would
positively reinforce his learning process and allow him to progress quickly to more complex
questions (Schacter, 2011, p. 18). The teaching machine did not make its way into classrooms
because some educational administrations and leaders believed it would interfere with the
traditional classroom setting by essentially replacing the job of teachers (Bjork, 2002).
Skinner was also a well-known author, writing books such as Science and Human
Behavior, The Behavior of Organisms, Walden Two, and Beyond Freedom and Dignity. The latter
two of the books sparked quite some controversy (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010). One of
Skinners more controversial ideas in Beyond Freedom and Dignity was the idea that free will
was not what people had actually thought it to be. Skinner went on to explain that people do not
possess free will, but are rather limited to their surroundings and are only responding to previous
patterns of reinforcement (Bjork, 2002). Skinner believed that this insight could be used to
expand human knowledge of the social mind and potentially solve social problems. (Schacter,
2011, p. 18)
Through his experiments and ideas, Skinner has influenced mainstream psychology in
many ways. Some of his writings are even similar to current studies. For instance, in his book
Verbal Behavior, Skinner writes about how operant conditioning also affects how we interact and
talk to each other. Skinner believed that when a person communicates, his or her verbal behavior
is dependent on the audience response. If the audience gives a positive response, the verbal
behavior is rewarded, and when the audience gives a negative response, verbal behavior is

THE INFLUENCE OF B. F. SKINNER

punished. There have been several experiments that show evidence towards Skinners
hypothesis. In one study, experimenters noted that during a conversation, subjects produced
more plural nouns whenever the experimenter would give positive feedback such as right or
good. (Goddard, 2012) This evidence shows that Skinners writings in the past were very
insightful even in current psychology.
Skinner has had several major contributions to the modern field of psychology. Skinners
invention of the Skinner Box and use of the teaching machine led him to develop the idea of
positive reinforcement, which is still used today in psychological studies. Skinner has been a
major influence to psychologists and even though some of his ideas have been disproven, many
of the ideas are thought as extremely insightful and influential. Although he faced much
controversy for some of his works during his time, it allowed Skinner to rise to fame. Skinners
ideas on the study of psychology are still currently discussed and utilized in psychological
studies.

THE INFLUENCE OF B. F. SKINNER

References
Skinner, b.f. In (2010). The New Encyclopedia Britannica(15th ed., Vol. 10, p. 866). Chicago, IL:
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
Bjork, Daniel. "Skinner, B. F. (19041990)." Encyclopedia of Education. Ed. James W. Guthrie.
2nd ed. Vol. 6. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002.
Schacter, Gilbert, & Wegner, (2011). Psychology. (2nd ed., pp. 17-18). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.
Goddard, M. J. (2012). On certain similarities between mainstream psychology and
the writings of b. f. skinner. The Psychological Record, 62(2), 563-575.