B. F. Skinner
B. F. Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner, commonly known as B. F. Skinner, was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth20 March 1904
CitySusquehana Depot, PA
CountryUnited States of America
men military opposed
I am opposed to the military use of animals. I am also opposed to the military use of men.
children cost deny fact gene history importance might operated
I don't deny the importance of genetics. However, the fact that I might be altruistic isn't because I have a gene for altruism; the fact that I do something for my children at some cost to myself comes from a history that has operated on me.
behavior committed culture feeding great longer money nor offers people reinforced whether work
Behavior used to be reinforced by great deprivation; if people weren't hungry, they wouldn't work. Now we are committed to feeding people whether they work or not. Nor is money as great a reinforcer as it once was. People no longer work for punitive reasons, yet our culture offers no new satisfactions.
reasonably simply valid
You can get along very well in this world by simply coming up with a quantity of reasonably valid statements.
benefits changing controls eliminate environment ideal
The ideal of behaviorism is to eliminate coercion: to apply controls by changing the environment in such a way as to reinforce the kind of behavior that benefits everyone.
activities dishes example filled hand lives mundane task tasks washing
Even the mundane task of washing dishes by hand is an example of the small tasks and personal activities that once filled people's daily lives with a sense of achievement.
awful people somewhere
I have to tell people that they are not responsible for their behavior. They're not creating it; they're not initiating anything. It's all found somewhere else. That's an awful lot to relinquish.
When you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it.
avoid behave best given inclined learns punished
A person who has been punished is not less inclined to behave in a given way; at best, he learns how to avoid punishment.
areas directing fruitful interested
The feeling of being interested can act as a kind of neurological signal, directing us to fruitful areas of inquiry.
continue environment practices until
The environment will continue to deteriorate until pollution practices are abandoned.
basket contact drive driving earn last maybe played remember respect tough work
Those were some tough calls. I don't remember us getting the benefit. Even the last play (Rice's drive to the basket), there's contact driving to the basket and that's (no foul). We make contact and it's a foul. It?s unfortunate. We played well enough and I thought we would earn the respect of the officials, but maybe it didn't?t work out that way.
credit defense great playing
We were just lucky. We can't take credit for playing great defense because we didn't.
customers information literally putting
We are putting the information customers need literally into their hands,