Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990) was an American psychologist, considered the main popularizer of behaviorism. However, he was not a pioneer of this trend, since some relevant authors had already begun their studies in this area, such as with their classical conditioning in animals or with the same mechanism applied to humans. On the other hand, in addition to being a psychologist, he was also considered a social philosopher and inventor.
Skinner, who graduated from Harvard University, focused his study on learning and observable behavior, which he proposed studying without making assumptions about internal or unobservable processes, typical of mental psychologists. He proposed a new type of conditioning: operant or instrumental conditioning.
In this article we briefly review Skinner’s life, especially at an academic and professional level, through the most relevant data or milestones in his biography.
Origin and studies
BF Skinner was born on March 20, 1904 in a small town in Pennsylvania (USA), called Susquehanna, and died in Cambridge (USA), on August 18, 1990, at the age of 86. . During his youth he considered making a living from creativity, through writing. However, he ended up giving up when he realized that he did not have as many opportunities for it as he initially believed.
He then decided to study psychology and began his studies at Harvard University. But upon arriving at the faculty, he found a psychology that was not what he thought either: underdeveloped, very focused on internal mental experience, with disjointed ideas and very abstract theories about consciousness. For him, all this had more to do with philosophy than with the scientific study of human behavior.
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The influence of John B. Watson
BF Skinner actually sought to get to know the most observable and not so “private” human behavior. Thus, he allowed himself to be influenced by Watson, a behavioral psychologist who advocated an experimental psychology, much more scientific and far removed from psychoanalysis.
But at that time, and at that university, the scientific method was not so common in Psychology.
The influence of Fred S. Keller
Later he met the American psychologist. In the late ’20s, Keller was a promise in behavioral psychology at Harvard. Keller convinced Skinner that it was not impossible to make psychology a science. Shortly after, in 1931, both received their doctorates.
At that time, Skinner continued his research at Harvard as a biology laboratory assistant, alongside Professor Crozier, and in 1936 he began working as a professor at the University of Minnesota. He spent nine years at this second university.
His vision of psychology
As we have seen, Skinner, in his development as a professional, began to be influenced by other figures. One of them is Watson and his behaviorist theory, but also Pavlov and his theory of conditioned reflexes.
As a result of his learning, Skinner began to believe in the possibility of explaining human behavior as a set of physiological responses conditioned by the environment. For this reason, he devoted himself to the study of the possibilities offered by the scientific control of behavior, through animal techniques.
And so, little by little, Skinner became a behavioral psychologist, a discipline still very recent at the time, focused on studying the observable behavior of human beings. And the thing is that, for Skinner, the concept of “mind”, or “consciousness”, moved away from his object of interest, as they were very abstract concepts for him. He wanted to study the observable mechanisms that modify our response or behavior. And so it was when he introduced the concept of operant or instrumental conditioning that we will describe below.
“The proposals and hypotheses of psychology must be verified exclusively through objective evidence.” -BF Skinner.
Contributions to psychology
One of Skinner’s most notable contributions is that of operant or instrumental conditioning. This consists of a learning method that involves the association of reinforcers and punishments with a certain behavior.
Through this type of learning, the person ends up associating the behavior with its consequences (reinforcement or punishment) and, depending on them, ends up increasing or decreasing the frequency of said behaviors.
Experiments
On the other hand, among BF Skinner’s most famous experiments we find that of training pigeons, using the so-called Skinner box.
In fact, this box is still used today for conditioning animals. Another of his experiments was that of people.
Skinner’s first book
This famous psychologist published his first book in 1938: The Behavior of Organisms: An Experimental Analysis. It was published as a collection volume Century Psychology Series from Copley Publishing Group.
In this book Skinner establishes the parameters to define the experimental analysis of behavior and the analysis of behavior. The book was revised 1 year later, in 1939, by Ernest R. Hilgard.
It is also important to mention the fact that he came to consider himself radical and that he aroused abundant controversy in his country. He achieved notable fame with the publication of the novel Walden Two, in 1948; In it he speculated about a future society fully programmed with behavioral engineering or behavior modification techniques.
Furthermore, in his essay Beyond freedom and dignity (1971), Skinner argued that such concepts (those of freedom and dignity) were ultimately harmful to society. He added in said essay that the only way to achieve optimal coexistence was by applying appropriate techniques in the design of the behavior of its members.
Skinner’s legacy
BF Skinner lecture at the APA annual convention (1990)
Skinner died on August 18, 1990, as a result of leukemia, at the age of 86. He was working until the same week of his death. His legacy is still valid today, a legacy that allowed the psychology we know today to begin to consolidate itself as a true scientific discipline.
We can even say that his contributions have influenced current cognitive psychology and the emergence of cognitive behavioral therapies. On the other hand, it is important to note that Skinner also provided useful information about learning processes based on association, through his experiments and his postulate on operant conditioning.
Although Skinner also generated controversy, it is said that he was a meticulous person dedicated to his work, who sought above all to generate empirical and scientific knowledge of psychology.
His memory is still valid and remains in the influences that his theories and research had in current psychology, where behaviorism continues to have a very relevant role within therapeutic guidelines.
References:
- Farré Martí J. (2005). Dictionary of Psychology. Barcelona: Editorial Ocean.
- Fernández, T. and Tamaro, E. (2004). BF Skinner Biography. In Biographies and Lives. The online biographical encyclopedia. Barcelona, Spain). Retrieved from October 15, 2021.
- Ferrater Mora J. (1979). Dictionary of Philosophy. Madrid: Editorial Alliance.