Fast Facts About
B.F. SKINNER
(1904 – 1990)

B.F. Skinner

Burrhus Fredrick Skinner was born on March 20, 1904, in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.

His father was a self-taught lawyer and his mother a housewife.

As a boy, Skinner showed great mechanical skills by designing a device to separate ripe and green berries and a contraption to remind him to keep his room clean.

Skinner published his first work “That Pessimistic Fellow,” a poem, in Lone Scout magazine at the age of ten.

In 1922, Skinner attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

After graduating from Hamilton, Skinner decided that he wanted to become a writer and moved back with his parents. Skinner later called this period the “dark year” because he experienced a severe case of writers block .

During a stay in New York, Skinner happened to read the works of Watson and Pavlov. He was impressed with their work and sought to learn more.

In 1928, at the age of 24, Skinner applied and was accepted into Harvard’s psychology program.
While at Harvard, Skinner invented Skinner box and the cumulative recorder which made it possible for Skinner to study animal behavior. The cumulative recorder logged the number of bar presses. Skinner noticed that the number of bar presses was dependent on what was received following the bar presses and not the preceding stimulus. Skinner called this behavior, "operant conditioning."

In 1936, Skinner married Yvonne Blue. They had their first child, Julie, in 1938.

In 1944, during World War II, Skinner worked on the “Project Pigeon” which trained pigeons to direct bombs by pecking at a target.

In 1943, during Yvonne’s second pregnancy, Skinner designed the “baby tender,” a crib that was designed to be safer than a normal crib.

In 1945, Skinner became Chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Indiana.

In 1948, Skinner joined Harvard University’s psychology department.

Skinner died on August 18, 1990, from leukemia .

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Classical Conditioning	Fast Facts About B.F. SKINNER (1904 – 1990) Burrhus Fredrick Skinner was born on March 20, 1904, in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. His father was a self-taught lawyer and his mother a housewife. As a boy, Skinner showed great mechanical skills by designing a device to separate ripe and green berries and a contraption to remind him to keep his room clean. Skinner published his first work “That Pessimistic Fellow,” a poem, in Lone Scout magazine at the age of ten. In 1922, Skinner attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. After graduating from Hamilton, Skinner decided that he wanted to become a writer and moved back with his parents. Skinner later called this period the “dark year” because he experienced a severe case of writers block . During a stay in New York, Skinner happened to read the works of Watson and Pavlov. He was impressed with their work and sought to learn more. In 1928, at the age of 24, Skinner applied and was accepted into Harvard’s psychology program. While at Harvard, Skinner invented Skinner box and the cumulative recorder which made it possible for Skinner to study animal behavior. The cumulative recorder logged the number of bar presses. Skinner noticed that the number of bar presses was dependent on what was received following the bar presses and not the preceding stimulus. Skinner called this behavior, "operant conditioning." In 1936, Skinner married Yvonne Blue. They had their first child, Julie, in 1938. In 1944, during World War II, Skinner worked on the “Project Pigeon” which trained pigeons to direct bombs by pecking at a target. In 1943, during Yvonne’s second pregnancy, Skinner designed the “baby tender,” a crib that was designed to be safer than a normal crib. In 1945, Skinner became Chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Indiana. In 1948, Skinner joined Harvard University’s psychology department. Skinner died on August 18, 1990, from leukemia . This page is Bobby Approved
Operant Conditioning
Pioneers Ivan Pavlov John B. Watson
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Fast Facts About B.F. SKINNER (1904 – 1990)

Fast Facts About
B.F. SKINNER
(1904 – 1990)