B. F.

SKINNER
(1904-1990)

Department of Psychology, Bahçeşehir University

PSY4074: History of Psychology
Dr. Itır Kaşıkçı
Dec. 29, 2022
Hazal Paşalı 1903340
 THE LIFE OF SKINNER

• Skinner was born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, the

elder of two sons.

• His father was a lawyer and his mother was a

housewife.

• Skinner majored in English at Hamilton College in

upstate New York and after graduation expected to

become a novelist.
 THE LIFE OF SKINNER

• He left Scranton for New York City’s Greenwich Village but found he could not write there.

• He decided that since writing had failed him, he would study human behavior by the

methods of science rather than the methods of fiction.

• He read books by Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson, and chose to become a behaviorist.
 THE LIFE OF SKINNER

• Skinner’s system of psychology reflects his early life experiences.

• According to his view, life is a product of past reinforcements.

• Skinner explained the themes that occurred in his life in terms of environmental events.
 MARRIAGE

• In 1936, he married a woman called

Yvonne Blue and they had two daugters
called Julie and Deborah.

• Skinner designed the ‘’baby tender’’ a crib

that was designed to be safer than a normal
crib.
 EDUCATION LIFE

• Skinner entered Harvard University in 1928 to study psychology.

• He had never taken a course in the field but earned his Ph.D. in three years.

• With postdoctoral fellowships, Skinner stayed at Harvard until 1936.

• He then taught at the University of Minnesota and Indiana University, returning to Harvard in

1947.
 SKINNER’S BEHAVIORISM

• Skinner advocated an empirical system with no theoretical framework.

• Skinner advocated a psychology that concentrates on a functional analysis between environmental

events and overt behaviors.

• Skinner’s behaviorism was devoted to the study of responses.

• He was concerned with describing rather than explaining behavior.

• His method was the comprehensive investigation of a single subject.

IMPORTANT BOOKS
THANK YOU
FOR
LISTENING
 REFERENCES

• Edition, T., Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2011). A History of Modern Psychology.
• Boeree, C. G. (2006). BF Skinner. Personality Theories.
• Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2016). Theories of personality. Cengage Learning.
• Skinner, B. F. (1967). BF Skinner.
• Skinner, B. F. (1976). Particulars of my life.
 QUESTIONS

• Skinner explained the themes that occurred in his life in terms of

• A. environmental events.

• B. animism.

• C. the manifestation of archetypes.

• D. his innate personality structure.

 QUESTIONS

• Skinner believed that the most useful data for predicting and
controlling behavior are

• A. people's psychological components.

• B. people's constitutions.

• C. people's conscious perceptions.

• D. people's personal histories.

 QUESTIONS

• As a young man, Skinner wanted to become a

• A. physician.

• B. lawyer.

• C. psychologist.

• D. writer.
 QUESTIONS

• According to Skinner, the most critical characteristic of

science is
• A. the testing and verification of hypotheses.

• B. an attitude that values empirical observation.

• C. the measurement of physiological responses.

• D. reliable formulation of hypothetical concepts.