B. F. Skinner Essay - 1590 Words

B.F. Skinner B.F. Skinner was one of the most influential theorists in modern psychology. His work was very important and has been studied by many for years. Skinner was a very straightforward man and a very educated man. His theories have helped mankind in many ways. He has studied the behavior patterns of many living organisms. Skinner was a well-published writer. His work has been published in many journals. He also has written many books on behaviorism. His most important work was the study of behaviorism. First began by John B. Watson, behaviorism is one of the most widely studied theories today. B.F. Skinner and His Influence in Psychology B.F. Skinner was one of the most famous of the American psychologists. He was†¦show more content†¦He also read about animals. He collected toads, lizards, and snakes. He trained pigeons to do tricks after he saw them performing one year at a fair. Training the pigeons probably was where he got his ideas of operant conditioning. He attended Susquehanna High School just like his mother and father. In his graduating class there were only eight people including him. He was a very intellectual person. He reported that he really enjoyed school. Over the four years in high school Skinner became good at math and reading Latin, but was no good at science. He was always performing physical and chemical experiments while he was at home. His father was a book collector. Skinner always had a good library of books around his house. Skinner recalled the little collection of applied psychology journals that his father had bought. Those books could have been the starting point in his psychology career. Skinner grew up in a very religious family. After high school Skinner went to Hamilton College where he majored in English Literature and minored in Romance Languages. Skinner’s freshman year did not turn out to be what he expected. He felt that the college was pushing him around with unnecessary requirements, such as daily chapel and physical education. Skinner’s college life became better as the years went on. He was very comfortable with college life by his senior year. He and a friend once printed up a poster that said that Charles Chaplin wasShow MoreRelatedEssay on B. F. Skinner802 Words   |  4 PagesB. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner, psychologist and behaviorist, was born in Susquhanna, Pennsylvania in 1904 to William Skinner and Grace Burrhus. His father was a lawywer and his mother was a naturally bright woman. Skinner had only one sibling; his brother died at the age of sixteen. Skinner lived most of his life in Susquhanna. He did not leave the house he was born in until he left to go to college. He was raised very close to his grandparents, who had a major impact on his early lifeRead More B. F. Skinner Essay1073 Words   |  5 Pages B. F. Skinner Burris Frederic Skinner was born on March 20th, 1904 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. His mother, Grace M. Burrhus, was a stenographer and a secretary, in a law office and later in a railroad chief executives office. His father, William A. Skinner, was an attorney, who studied law with another local attorney at a New York Law School. Skinners parents were both good students. His father had bought several sets of books, so there was a lot of reading material their children. SkinnerRead MoreOperant Conditioning by B. F Skinner1580 Words   |  7 Pagesrealizing it, and most of the time, they don’t know why they do them. Certain reinforcements, some positive, and some negative have conditioned their actions and thoughts. In this essay, I chose Burrhus Frederic Skinner who came up with the theory of operant conditioning. B. F. skinner,(March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) is an American psychologist who believed that we do have such a thing as a mind, but that it is simply more productive to study observable behavior rather than internal mentalRead MoreIvan Pavlov, John Watson, And B. F. Skinner1272 Words   |  6 Pagesemotional, and environmental influences as playing roles in how we understand the world. With the rise of learning theories, three main theorists stood out, whose works are still in effect today. These theorists were Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, and B. F. Skinner. The theories created by each of these psychologists are still in effect to this day, and laid the groundwork for modern learning theories. Ivan Pavlov was a Russian psychologist born in the 1800’s. He was mainly influenced by the ideas of PisarevRead MoreThe Theory Of Behavioral Learning Theory901 Words   |  4 PagesB. F. Skinner is one of the top psychologist who invented the radical behaviorism and critical psychiatry. B. F. 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After much research and thought, I will argue in favorRead MorePsychology Should Be About Behavior And Not About An Inner Force994 Words   |  4 Pages B.F. Skinner was a psychologist that seemed to go against what many other psychologists thought about personality. He did not believe in personality. In a way, Skinner has a point about personality not existing because we do change our behavior based on the environment we are in. (Olson Hergenhahn, 2011.) Since there is no proof of a personality, I believe that psychology should be about behavior and not about an inner force. I do not believe a person is consistent across time because if theyRead MoreUnderstanding the Psychologist Called Burrhus Frederick Skinner1190 Words   |  5 PagesAssignment 4 Valerie Rountree Walden University Management in Human and Social Development - MGMT 8010 June 28, 2014 Understanding Burrhus Frederic Skinner B. F. Skinner was one of the most influential of American psychologists. A radical behaviorist, he developed the theory of operant conditioning, the idea that behavior is determined by its consequences, be they reinforcements or punishments, which make it more or unlikely that the behavior will be repeated again, (NNDB, 2014)Read MoreEssay Burrhus Frederic Skinner1132 Words   |  5 PagesBurrhus Frederic Skinner People do on a day to day basis, many actions without realizing it, and most of the time, they don’t know why they do them. Certain reinforcements, some positive, and some negative have conditioned their actions and thoughts. All organisms, including humans, are greatly influenced by the consequences produced by their own behavior. 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