B.F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner

Background  March 20, August 18, 1990  Born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania  1926 a B.A. in English literature Hamilton College,  Time spent a struggling writer Inspired by these works,  Entered the psychology graduate program at Harvard University.  1936-married Yvonne Blue in 1936, Daughters Julie and Deborah.  moved to Bloomington, Indiana  became Psychology Department Chair and the University of Indiana.  joined the psychology department at Harvard University’  Retired

Accomplishments  He became a leader of behaviorism  Invented Skinner box Awards:  1966 Edward Lee Thorndike Award, American Psychological Association  National Medal of Science from President Lyndon B. Johnson  Gold Medal of the American Psychological Foundation  Human of the Year Award  Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology

Seminal Work in Field

 Continued Pavlov and Watson’s Work  Advanced Thorndike’s work.

Operant Conditioning Theory  Programmed learning  Broken into steps  Maximize success, minimize frustration  Programmed instruction  Use of behavioral objectives Tracey 46

 To employ the theory of operant conditioning we must look at actions and consequences  Responses that follow behavior  Neutral Operant  Reinforcers  Punishers

 Shaping- Through shaping we gradually bring the learner to the desired outcome by starting to reinforce broad steps and then more specific steps necessary to achieve a goal  Chaining- Sequence small steps into a more complex act. Tracey 28

Classroom Application  Behaviorism led to the “subskills approach”  Reading is broken down to many parts  Mastery of parts through response/ immediate feedback

 Programmed learning  Using activities that demonstrate a correlation between what has been taught and what is assessed  Pro  Strong on emphasizing concept of sequence and success of students  Con  Moves very slowly with little student input  (Marlow1)

Direct Instruction  Introduction  Select examples that are easy to apply skill  guided practice  Scaffolded  Discrimination

Criticism  His theory of "operant conditioning" -- known as behavior modification -- seemed, in the 1950s and '60s, manufactured for the same fascist tool kit as Huxley's soma or Orwell's thoughtcrime” (Bennet1)

 “ ‘I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t read any of his work,’ Spock wrote, ‘but I know that it’s fascist and manipulative, and therefore I can’t approve of it.’” (Freedman1)

Time found Skinner unsettling enough to put him on its cover and ask, "Skinner's Utopia: Panacea, or Path to Hell” (Bennet 1).

Walden Two  To teach toddlers self-control, Frazier says, workers hang lollipops "like crucifixes" around their necks and tell them they may eat the whole thing later, provided they don't lick it until permitted (Bennet 1).

Citations  Bennet, J (2012). What man can make of man. In The Atlantic.. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 6 May  Cherry, K. (2013). “B. F. Skinner Biography ( ).”In About.Com Guide. Retrieved May 13, 2013 from  Edgier, M (2012). Recent leaders in American education. In College Student Journal 46. :174+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 7 May  Freedman, David H.(2012) The perfected self: B.F. Skinner's notorious theory of behavior modification was denounced by critics 50 years ago as a fascist, manipulative vehicle for government control. But Skinner's ideas are making an unlikely comeback today, powered by smartphone apps that are transforming us into thinner, richer, all-around-better versions of ourselves. The only thing we have to give up? Free will. In The Atlantic: 42+. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 7 May  Tracey, D. and Morrow, L.M. (2012). Behaviorism. (Ch. 3) In Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and models. New York. NY: Guilford Press, pp