Bf Skinner Biography
Sammy Query
Craig Barnhart
Psych
October 10, 2016
The Life and Studies of BF Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born in Pennsylvania on March 20, 1904. His small family lived in the town of Susquehavana where his parents instilled a hard-working lifestyle onto him and his younger brother. BF was an average boy; he loved to build contraptions and be outdoors. But unlike most boys, he not only enjoyed, but excelled, at school. His childhood was fairly happy until his brother died of a cerebral aneurysm at age 16. This devastated young Skinner, but he continued to persevere through life.
Skinner attended Hamilton College in New York where he received his Bachelor of Arts in English. Skinner was an atheist at a school that required for students to attend daily chapel. Skinner wrote for many groups in college, including the faculty, school paper, and Phi Beta Kappa. He was introverted in college, not wanting to attend parties or go to sporting events. While at Hamilton, he decided he wanted to become a writer, even sending off short stories and poetry to publishers, but none of them panned out. He lived in Greenwich Village for awhile as a newspaper writer, but ultimately decided to go back to school to Harvard University, where he obtained a doctorate in psychology in …show more content…
For example, if a child smokes cigarettes around his parents and his parents don’t seem to mind, the child will most likely continue to smoke. But if the parents punish the child for smoking, the child will most likely quit smoking, or at least his urge to smoke will be weakened. His theory makes sense. Though his experiments with animals might not be humane today, they obviously show that animals, as well as humans, behave according to the consequences of their actions. In my opinion, he contributed more to the field of psychology than any other
Craig Barnhart
Psych
October 10, 2016
The Life and Studies of BF Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born in Pennsylvania on March 20, 1904. His small family lived in the town of Susquehavana where his parents instilled a hard-working lifestyle onto him and his younger brother. BF was an average boy; he loved to build contraptions and be outdoors. But unlike most boys, he not only enjoyed, but excelled, at school. His childhood was fairly happy until his brother died of a cerebral aneurysm at age 16. This devastated young Skinner, but he continued to persevere through life.
Skinner attended Hamilton College in New York where he received his Bachelor of Arts in English. Skinner was an atheist at a school that required for students to attend daily chapel. Skinner wrote for many groups in college, including the faculty, school paper, and Phi Beta Kappa. He was introverted in college, not wanting to attend parties or go to sporting events. While at Hamilton, he decided he wanted to become a writer, even sending off short stories and poetry to publishers, but none of them panned out. He lived in Greenwich Village for awhile as a newspaper writer, but ultimately decided to go back to school to Harvard University, where he obtained a doctorate in psychology in …show more content…
For example, if a child smokes cigarettes around his parents and his parents don’t seem to mind, the child will most likely continue to smoke. But if the parents punish the child for smoking, the child will most likely quit smoking, or at least his urge to smoke will be weakened. His theory makes sense. Though his experiments with animals might not be humane today, they obviously show that animals, as well as humans, behave according to the consequences of their actions. In my opinion, he contributed more to the field of psychology than any other