1. Burrhus Frederic Skinner
Aka: B.F. Skinner
Cassidy Robishaw

2. Who is he? Lived from March 20, 1904 to August 18, 1990
He is from Susquehanna, Pennsylvania
Skinner created radical behaviorism. He is also known for his work in behavior analysis, and verbal behavior.
Perspective: Behaviorism

3. What did he do? Two Inventions: Skinner’s Box and Air Crib
Skinner’s box is used to study animals behaviors. An animal is placed in the box and every time the animal performs an action like pushing a lever, they would get a small amount of food. This experiment enabled him to discover schedules of reinforcement.
3 types of reinforcement: Continuous, Interval (fixed/variable), Ratio (fixed or variable)
He also invented the air crib which is a plexiglass box like a crib but more safer. The box was supposed to help in raising infants, because you can clean it easily and it creates a perfect temperature and a low humidity environment. Some critics call this “baby in a box”

4. Interesting Facts
John B. Watson’s thesis had a huge impact on Skinner and would direct the rest of his life.
Skinner originally went to school to study literature.
He published 21 books and 180 articles, two books are Walden Two and Beyond Freedom and Dignity
During World War Skinner worked on the “Project Pigeon” which trained pigeons to direct bombs by pecking at a target.
I agree with Skinner’s findings on schedules of reinforcement, because I think if you know that every time you do a certain action you are going to get a reward for it, them you will continue to do the action.
Would you raise your kid in the air crib?