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He was born March 20th 1904 He died August 18th 1990 Originally wanted to ne a novelist B.A. in English from Hamilton Went to Harvard for Psychology Graduate Program Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten He is a Psychologist Studied behaviorism Behavioral Phycology is the study of external behavior He theorized that you could change the way people think He believed that you could influence peoples behavior We shouldn’t teach great books We should teach a love of reading He believed that behavior is sustained by reinforcements or rewards, not by free will. Developed “Operant Conditioning” Definition: type of learning in which an individual's behavior is modified by its antecedents (positive reinforcements) and consequences (negative reinforcements). He created the “Skinner Box” Placed an animal inside to monitor the animals behavior Inside the box there was a lever Would present a treat We’re positive treats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWtvrPTbQ_c Skinner often made the analogy of his project to a casino He found that: 1.) Primary Conditioners → have a breaking point 2.) Secondary Conditioners → don’t have a breaking point If our behavior can be monitored and changed the way Skinner was able to get responses from the animals he tested, do we really have full self control? Does Skinner “de-humanize” or “mechanize” humans? Skinner is known for a quote: “Give me a child and I’ll shape them into anything”. Is this power or knowledge a dangerous tool for people to posses? References BF Skinner." BF Skinner. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2014. <http://www3.niu.edu/acad/psych/Millis/History/2003/cogrev_skin ner.htm>. "B. F. Skinner." B. F. Skinner. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2014. <http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/Skinner.html>. B. F. Skinner: The Life of Psychology's "Radical Behaviorist"." About Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2014. <http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_ski nner.htm>. Skinner - Operant Conditioning." B.F. Skinner. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2014. <http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html>.