By Ian Hushek
Burrhus Frederic Skinner Born 1904 Home town of Susquehanna Pennsylvania Family Father William Mother Grace Brother Edward
Father: William Skinner Salutatorian of Susquehanna high 1895 enrolled in law school in NY supporting himself as a bookkeeper Completed a two year course in one year Prominent local lawyer Married Grace Madge Burrhus in April 1902 Believed in progress of future generations
Mother: Grace Madge Burrhus Born June 4, 1878 Oldest of 4 siblings Only one brother, Harry, survived to adulthood Musically inclined Also graduated salutatorian of Susquehanna high Gave up her job at the Erie Railroad after she married Put a lot of emphasis on what other people would think
Home Life House next to cemetery and blacksmith shop yard Chaotic household Learned to explore and organize House was a mess, town was a mess, surrounding countryside was largely primeval Chaotic mess led to Fred making things he learned to make do with what he had
Home Life Cont. Loved to read Made first Skinner boxes to read in Took piano lessons as a boy, learned saxophone in high school but never learned much of either Was a very creative and inventive
Foreshadowing Fred would later view science as he does inventing in the scrapyard It is a matter of improvisation and accidental discovery rather than a premeditated process of ordering the environment
High School Twelve years in one small building 8 people in his graduating class Graduated salutatorian Mrs. Graves Francis Bacon To be commanded, nature must be obeyed The scientific method Education And the “abiding principle that knowledge is power.”
Hamilton College Entering freshman in 1922 at age 18 with the dream of becoming a writer 111 total entering freshman Fred was in the minority of his classmates because he was the first of his family to attend Hamilton Ebbie’s death Arthur Percy Saunders Dark Year Completed B.A. in English Literature in 1926
Harvard Started in September 1928 Dissertation on “The Concept of the Reflex” Suggested that the reflex be given a broad, operational definition; that it describe the functional behavior of the whole organism. Completed all his work for his doctoral degree by March 1931 Obtained a National Research Council Fellowship for 1931-32 and again for 1932-33 In April 1933, Skinner was inducted into the Harvard Society of Fellows … Stayed at Harvard until 1936
Science of Behavior Cognitive Psychology was dominant theory at the time Strictly observational, no mental processes Look at the organism as a whole Variables outside organism, in environment Focused on the behavior of the organism, not the organism itself Operant Conditioning Skinner Box The Behavior of Organisms 1938
Yvonne (Eve) Blue Oldest daughter of an affluent Chicago ophthalmologist Loved literature Introduced to Skinner on July 22, 1936 while visiting a friend at Harvard Skinner started teaching at the University of Minnesota in the fall of 1936 Yvonne visited a few times but hated Minneapolis and ended the engagement They soon after made up and were married on November 1, 1937 2 daughters, Julie born 1938 and Deborah born 1944
University of Minnesota One year contract Light teaching responsibilities and good research facilities Yvonne didn’t like Minnesota Skinner came out of his shell WWII gave skinner the opportunity to take operant conditioning out of the box
Pigeon Project On a train in April 1940, skinner saw a flock of birds and wondered if he could train birds like them to guide missiles Used operant conditioning to train the pigeons step by step Within minutes pigeons would be able to play simple tunes on a piano or even play ping pong Skinner got in contact with the National Defense Research Committee Not convinced it would work, ended project pigeon in May of 1941
Pigeon Project Cont. Attack on Pearl Harbor seven months later sparked more interest NDRC still not convinced General Mills Company January 1942, granted a sabbatical and devoted all his time to pigeon research By 1943 awarded $25,000 contract from NDRC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIbZB6rNLZ4 1:38-3:02 Close to a solution but stopped short by D.C.
University of Indiana Started on Sept. 1 st 1945 as a professor of psychology and chairman of the psychology department Moved to Bloomington Yvonne really hated it there, changed her name to Eve Started working on Baby Tender right before he left
Heir Conditioner Began in the summer of 1944 in his basement when his wife was pregnant with second daughter Skinner’s answer was a crib - sized living space Freed mother and child Effectively controlled infant environment “Baby in a Box” article October 1945 Very mixed reactions
Heir Crib Cont. Skinner tried to sell his invention Skinner got hustled His invention had brought Skinner into the public eye in a controversial way. Although it was a not the commercial success he had wanted, the experience helped show the potential power of his combined behavioral science and his inventive talent as he would later use them to become a full-fledged cultural inventor.
Walden Two Published in 1948 Thoreau wrote Walden Live simple solitary life, commune with nature Utopian society Use operant conditioning to scientifically structure culture Before its time Real Walden Two’s
Back to Harvard 1948 move back to Harvard Both Fred and Eve were happy to move back East Bought a house not far from Harvard so Fred could bike to work Daughters went to a good private school and would grow up to know this house as their home, as did Skinner and Eve
Teaching Machine Observed daughter’s class; saw a problem with the classroom environment Too many students per teacher No immediate reinforcement His answer was to control student behavior by manipulating their surroundings The most serious criticism of the current classroom is the relative infrequency of reinforcement In most classroom the only reinforcement that students receive is that they do the work required to avoid punishment of one kind or another
We Can’t Afford Freedom Sep. 20 1971 Article about Skinner’s life but was written because of his new book Beyond Freedom and Dignity Made Skinner more famous (and more hated) than ever before
Beyond Freedom and Dignity HUGE controversy Idea of freedom is important to everyone Skinner says we don ’ t have freedom; our behavior is determined by our environment. We only have the feeling of freedom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHA Start at 2:55 Eliminate cultural practices that discourage behavior indicative to human survival Create a better future for everyone through behavioral science
Later Years Continued daily schedule to maximize productivity Wrote Gave lectures Died of Leukemia in 1990
Discussion Questions What was Skinner’s most most influential invention? Skinner based Beyond Freedom and Dignity on the idea that we as humans don ’ t have free will, but only the illusion of free will. Do you think we have free will? Since the world cannot be controlled like a Skinner Box, is it possible to create the world envisioned by Skinner in Beyond Freedom and Dignity? Would it be worth it?
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