b .F. Skinner (1904-1990), psychologist, philosopher, researcher and writer, was undoubtedly one of the most influential and controversial psychologists of our era. His thorough research into operant conditioning transformed our understanding of the powerful effect the environment has on our behavior, and he demonstrated that we share the same learning principles as animals. This last point was very difficult to digest and initiated heated debates and confrontations between the main psychology leaders of the time. Especially because the evidence he presented strongly contradicted the most accepted theory of the time.
Unfortunately, the debates did not focus solely on his theory and concepts, but numerous epithets and rumors were directed against Skinner and his family, where he was classified as fascist, controlling and retrograde.
But there was a rumor that haunted him for the rest of his life. A legend that was sown in the hallways of the university where he worked and that spread to this day in psychology classes, books and poorly documented biographies.
This is the true story of the cone of skinner.
The Skinner’s cradle wave air cradle
It all began in 1944 when Skinner decided to build his second daughter, Deborah, a special crib that would not only be comfortable and safe, but would also reduce the workload his wife, Yvonne, had at home. So, true to his style, Skinner carefully evaluated all the inefficient elements of the cribs of the time and, together with his wife, decided that they would only include the elements most important to his care.
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Skinner was confident and excited about this project. Years before he had designed and built with his own hands the an experiment that allowed him to demonstrate the principle of operant reinforcement and obtain global recognition from the scientific community.
Skinner got to work and as a result achieved an unconventional crib. More like a huge cabin with a glass panel in the front that could be raised and lowered to put his daughter in her crib. The cabin also incorporated an air filter to protect her from allergies and a temperature regulator that allowed her to keep her baby in a pleasant environment without having to dress her in layers and layers of clothing to protect her from the harsh Minnesota cold. This in turn reduced the load of clothes, diapers and sheets to wash. Reducing the amount of clothing also gave your baby more freedom to move and play freely inside the crib, without the risk of getting tangled and suffocating in the sheets. Skinner also thought of an easy and comfortable procedure that did not require bending down to remove wet sheets and that consisted of a tarp on the floor attached to rollers that could be easily slid and changed with a pulley.
Deborah Skinner inside Skinner’s Air Cradle.
Like any father, Skinner and his wife Yvonne regularly took their daughter out of the crib to play, change her and spend time with her. Deborah used her crib for the first two years of her life and everything indicates that she lived a happy childhood.
Skinner was pleased with the crib he had invented and in 1945 wrote an article for the magazine Ladies Home Journal in which he describes the benefits of the crib which he referred to as an “apparatus.” The magazine’s publisher decided to change the title of Baby Care Can be Modernized (Baby Care Can Be Modernized) by the title (Baby in a Box) and presented it with an image of Deborah being inside the crib with her hands pressed against the glass, as if she were trapped. An image that is not beneficial at all. As expected, other media outlets republished the news, cutting and selecting some of the fragments of Skinner’s article, without presenting the full idea of his invention or what his objective was.
Image from the article published in the Ladies Home Journal.
Even so the Skinner’s cradle It was commercialized and it is estimated that more than 300 children were raised with it. Many parents reportedly considered this crib to be superior to the standards of the time (Epstein, 1995).
But most people didn’t understand it that way. Some believed that Skinner was obsessed with efficiency and trying to use science to replace the love and care that babies should receive. While many others, motivated by rumors, believed that this crib was the continuation of the cSkinner’s aja and that he was preparing to experiment with his daughters in the same way that he did with his pigeons and rats.
The magnitude of the myth was such that it was said that Deborah developed a psychotic disorder for which she was institutionalized and, upon reaching adulthood, she sued her father for the atrocious experiments to which he subjected her. But she still couldn’t handle the psychological pain that her father caused her and finally committed suicide.
Deborah Skinner Buzan
Contrary to the whole web of lies that was created around the image of Skinner and his family, Deborah grew up with all the love and care of her parents. Upon arriving at university she studied art history, graduating in 1967 and then moved to London to perfect her art. During those years she met Barry Buzan, whom she would marry on March 12, 1973.
Skinner with her daughters Julie (left) and Deborah (right).
Debora has had a successful life as a painter. But still the legend of her father’s experiments has haunted her throughout her life. The worst episode occurred in 2004 when a poor review of the book, by award-winning writer Lauren Slater, continued to perpetuate the myth that she was used to test her father’s theories (Miller, 2004). Slater herself hinted that Deborah was difficult to find and that she was probably unstable giving her a mysterious ending.
Deborah, already tired of so many lies, decided to write an energetic response that was published in the renowned English newspaper Guardian(Buzan, 2004) where she clarified that Skinner was a devoted and loving father and that at no time did he use her as his guinea pig.
But this isn’t the first time the Skinners have fought back. Many years ago, Skinner himself tried to put a stop to this rumor and personally confronted the psychiatrist who started it to put an end to it once and for all. He even took advantage of one of his lectures to clear up this whole misunderstanding. Thanks to YouTube today we can see first-hand what his response was:
Skinner was a man of science, an inventor, but above all he was a father and husband who wanted to give his daughter and wife the best possible conditions. His invention was ahead of his time. The best example of this is that many of the characteristics of your crib are today supported by the recommendations of pediatricians: optimal air quality, temperature and a reduction in the number of objects and clothing inside the crib to prevent suffocation. But he was poorly received and used as gunpowder to start a myth that is still alive. Perhaps all of this could have been avoided if Skinner had received help from a marketing team that advised him to replace overly scientific words like “gadget” or “experiment” to describe his invention to the parents of the time.
Bibliographic references:
- Babies in Boxes. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/199511/babies-in-boxes
- Buzan, D.S. (2004, March 12). I was not a lab rat. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/education/2004/mar/12/highereducation.uk
- Jorge, M. (2017, January 08). The baby who lived in a box (or how a fake media story ended a science project). Retrieved from https://es.gizmodo.com/el-bebe-que-vivia-en-una-caja-o-como-una-noticia-falsa-1790840085
- Joyce, N., & Faye, C. (nd). Skinner Air Crib. Retrieved from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/skinner-air-crib
- Joyce, N., & Faye, C. (nd). Skinner Air Crib. Retrieved from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/skinner-air-crib
- Miller, L. (2004, May 02). THE LAST WORD; Unpacking Skinner’s Box. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/02/books/the-last-word-unpacking-skinner-s-box.html
- Skinner, B.F. (n.d.). Baby in a Box. Cumulative Record (enlarged Ed.), 419-426. doi:10.1037/11324-032
Footnotes page:
- Skinner was working at the University of Minnesota at the time (1945).
- Disposable diapers were not invented until 1949 by Marion Donovan.