b. f. skinner essays

b. f. skinner essays B.F. Skinner born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania March 20, 1904 was a man known as B.F. Skinner. His real name was Burrhus Fredric, but he signed his name as B.F. since he was at the tender age of nine Skinner accomplished many things in his lifetime. He wrote several books, all about psychology Skinner was the first child of William A. and Grace Burrhus Skinner . During high school Skinner was involved in many activities, including writing for the local paper, playing the piano and saxophone, and inventing things. After graduating high school Skinner went to Hamilton College and graduated in 1926 where he majored in English language and literature. There after he went on to Harvard University, where he received a Ph.D. degree in 1931. Skinner stayed there until 1936 doing laboratory experiments . He the joined the University of Minnesota in 1937. It was during this time that Skinner wrote his first book The Behavior of Organisms .The book was quoted to be a fairly comprehensive s tudy of operant conditioning In this book the theory of B.F. Skinner is based upon the idea that learning is a function of change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an individuals response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. A response produces a consequence such as defining a word, hitting a ball, or solving a math problem. When a particular Stimulus-Response (S-R) pattern is reinforced (rewarded), the individual is conditioned to respond. The distinctive characteristic of operant conditioning relative to previous forms of behaviorism (for example Thorndike and Hull) is that the organism can emit responses instead of only eliciting response due to an external stimulus. Reinforcement is the key element in Skinners S-R theory. It could be verbal praise, a good grade, or a feeling of increased accomplishment or satisfaction. The theo ...