B. F. Skinner
Born March 20, 1904, B. F. Skinner thought of his childhood as stable and enjoyed the building of things; he continued to use these skills later on in his experiments. In 1926 he received a B.A. in English literature from Hamilton College.
Skinner spent some time as a struggling writer before he found out about Watson and Pavlov’s work. He entered the psychology graduate program at Harvard after learning of their contributions. Skinner took great inspiration from John Watson but was less extreme in his own methods.
Watson believed that all forms of human response were forms of stimulus and reaction. He denied the existence of a conscience and believed all differences in human behaviour were due to differences in learning environment.
Skinner, however, believed in the existence of the mind but believed it is simply more productive to study observable behaviour rather than inner mental occurrences because we cannot perceive the mind. In 1936 he married his wife Yvonne Blue and they had two daughters, Julie and Deborah.
Skinner lived a successful life remaining close to Harvard until his death in August 18, 1990.
Skinner spent some time as a struggling writer before he found out about Watson and Pavlov’s work. He entered the psychology graduate program at Harvard after learning of their contributions. Skinner took great inspiration from John Watson but was less extreme in his own methods.
Watson believed that all forms of human response were forms of stimulus and reaction. He denied the existence of a conscience and believed all differences in human behaviour were due to differences in learning environment.
Skinner, however, believed in the existence of the mind but believed it is simply more productive to study observable behaviour rather than inner mental occurrences because we cannot perceive the mind. In 1936 he married his wife Yvonne Blue and they had two daughters, Julie and Deborah.
Skinner lived a successful life remaining close to Harvard until his death in August 18, 1990.