B. F. Skinner

High school (ages 12+)
Thinking & Learning

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/b-f-skinner

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was B. F. Skinner born?March 20, 1904
2. When did B. F. Skinner die?August 18, 1990 (age 86)
3. Where was B. F. Skinner born?Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, USA
4. What is the career?Psychologist, philosopher, inventor, and author, holding a professorship at Harvard University
5. What is a Skinner Box and how does it help animals learn?A Skinner Box is a special cage where scientists can control what happens to an animal. By giving a reward when the animal does something, they can see how quickly it learns that action.
6. How did B. F. Skinner use food to teach animals tricks?In the box, a rat or pigeon gets a piece of food when it presses a lever or pecks a disk. The food makes the animal want to do that action again.

Radical Behaviorism: Skinner's philosophy that behavior is determined by environmental consequences, including internal events.
Operant Conditioning: A learning process where voluntary behavior is strengthened or weakened by its consequences (reinforcement or punishment).
Schedules of Reinforcement: Specific patterns dictating when a behavior will be reinforced, affecting its rate and persistence.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA): The scientific study and application of behavior principles to bring about positive social change.