Burrhus, Frederic Skinner

B. F. Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was one of the
most influential of American psychologist. He is a behaviorist, author,
inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of
Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974.
He developed the theory of operant conditioning – the idea that behavior
is determined by its consequences, be they reinforcements or
punishments, which make it more or less likely that the behavior will occur
again. Skinner believed that the only scientific approach to psychology
was one that studied behaviors, not internal (subjective) mental process.

To strengthen behavior, Skinner used operant conditioning, and

he considered the rate of response to be the most effective measure of
response strength. To study operant conditioning, he invented the operant
conditioning chamber, also known as the Skinner Box, and to measure
rate he invented the cumulative recorder. Using these tools, he and C. B.
Ferster produced his most influential experimental work, which appeared
1in their book Schedules of Reinforcement (1957).

1 Prepared by: Jecel B. Lato

 Skinner was a prolific author who published 21 books and
180 articles. Contemporary academia considers Skinner a pioneer of
modern behaviorism, along with John B. Watson and Ivan Pavlov. A June
2002 survey listed Skinner as the most influential psychologist of the 20th
century.2

Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through

rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an
individual makes an association between a particular behavior and a
consequence (Skinner, 1938).

Skinner is regarded as the father of Operant Conditioning, but his

work was based on Thorndike’s (1898) law of effect. According to this
principle, behavior that is followed by pleasant consequences is likely to
be repeated, and behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is less
likely to be repeated.

Skinner introduced a new term into the Law of Effect -

Reinforcement. Behavior which is reinforced tends to be repeated (i.e.,
strengthened); behavior which is not reinforced tends to die out-or be
extinguished (i.e., weakened).

Skinner (1948) studied operant conditioning by conducting

experiments using animals which he placed in a 'Skinner Box' which was
similar to Thorndike’s puzzle box.

Skinner identified three types of responses, or operant, that can

follow behavior.

These are, the neutral operant is that neither increase nor

decrease the probability of a behavior being repeated. Reinforcement it is

2
Source:https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html
increase the probability of a behavior being repeated. Reinforcement can
be either positive or negative. Punishers: is a decrease the likelihood of a
behavior being repeated. Punishment weakens behavior.