# B. F. Skinner ![[50 Resources/51 Attachments/51.03 Public/2025-08-23_B_F_Skinner.jpg|400]] Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1948 until his retirement in 1974. Skinner developed behavior analysis, especially the philosophy of radical behaviorism, and founded the experimental analysis of behavior. He used operant conditioning to strengthen behavior, considering the rate of response to be the most effective measure of response strength. To study operant conditioning, he invented the operant conditioning chamber (the "Skinner box") and the cumulative recorder. Born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, Skinner initially intended to become a writer but was drawn to psychology after encountering John B. Watson's behaviorism. He received his PhD from Harvard in 1931 and spent his career at the University of Minnesota, Indiana University, and Harvard. Skinner was a prolific author, publishing 21 books and 180 articles. His most influential works include "The Behavior of Organisms" (1938), the utopian novel "Walden Two" (1948), and "Verbal Behavior" (1957). Along with John B. Watson and Ivan Pavlov, he is considered a pioneer of modern behaviorism. A 2002 survey listed Skinner as the most influential psychologist of the 20th century. ## Quotes <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[B. F. Skinner]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> ## Books <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #books AND [[B. F. Skinner]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC -->