1.

BIOGRAPHY

2. CAREER

3. INVENTION

4. BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH

5. AWARD

EARLY LIFE Burrhus Frederic Skinner born on March 20, 1904 in Susquehanna, New York. With one younger brother, he grew up in a home environment he described as "warm and stable". His father was a rising young lawyer, his mother a housewife. Much of his boyhood was spent building things

After attending Hamilton college, Skinner decided to become a writer. At the age of 24 Skinner enrolled in the Psychology Department of Harvard University.

In 1936, then 32 years old, Skinner married Yvonne Blue and the couple moved to Minnesota where Skinner had his first teaching job. He then taught at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis and later at Indiana University, where he was chair of the psychology department from 19461947, before returning to Harvard as a tenured professor in 1948. He died on August 18, 1990.

CAREER
researcher

writer

proffesor

RESEARCH AND INVENTIONS

SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT
Basically the frequency in which we deliver rewards for any performances Ratio Schedule Fixed Ratio Variable Ratio Interval Schedule Fixed Interval Variable Interval

Fixed Ratio

Reinforcement occurs after a set of response, predictable e.g: for every chore a child do, he will get a new toy
Reinforcement occurs after an unpredictable number of responses. e.g: gambling and lottery games.

Variable Ratio

Reinforcement based on Reinforcement is received amount of time that passed after a set amount of time, between responses.Time regardless of number of passed between reinforcement responses during that time. is unpredictable.
Eg: every hour of working, you received RM 50. E.g: checking email

Fixed Interval

Variable Interval

Operant conditioning
BEHAVIOR (RESPONSE)
CONSEQUENCE

Reinforcement (Behavior )

Punishment (Behavior )

Positive

Negative

Positive Reinforcement

Action to satisfy individual e.g: youre thirsty, drink Coke to satisfy your thirst.

Negative Reinforcement

The removal of an adverse state. e.g., have a cough - take cough syrup cough go away Inflicting a negative state upon individual e.g: eating tainted food and get sick

Punishment

BABY TENDER / AIR CRIB

Design to simplify the care of a baby for the first year or two
To provide clean, comfortable, safe and warm place for the baby. It was first used by Skinners daughter, Deborah.

Her skin stayed dry, and she never had any diaper rash. She never objected to being put into the baby tender and almost never cried.

There were no nightclothes, sheets, or blankets, and she wore only a diaper. There was no danger that she would smother, as there occasionally is in a standard crib. She breathed clean air, which was humidified and maintained at just the right temperature.

Modern air crib

TEACHING MACHINE
In 1954 B.F. Skinner embarked upon a series of studies designed to improve teaching methods for spelling, math, and other school subjects by using a mechanical device that would surpass the usual classroom experience. The rate of learning for different students was variable and reinforcement was also delayed due to the lack of individual attention.

composed of mainly a program, which is a system of combined teaching and test items that carries the student gradually through the material to be learned. composed by a fill-in-the-blank method on either a workbook or in a computer. If the subject is correct, he/she gets reinforcement and moves on to the next question. If the answer is incorrect, the subject studies the correct answer to increase the chance of getting reinforced next time.

PROJECT PIGEON
During World War II, Skinner design a pigeonguided missile
The control system involved a lens at the front of the missile projecting an image of the target to a screen inside, while a pigeon trained to recognize the target pecked at it.

As long as the pecks remained in the center of the screen, the missile would fly straight, but pecks off-center would cause the screen to tilt, which would then, via a connection to the missile's flight controls, cause the missile to change course.

Awards and Positions

1949-1950 - President of the Midwestern Psychological Association 1954-1955 - President of the Eastern Psychological Association 1964-1974 - Career Award, National Institute of Mental Health; 1971 - Gold Medal Award, American Psychological Foundation

1972 - Humanist of the Year Award 1978 - National Association for Retarded Citizens Award;

1985 - Award for Excellence in Psychiatry

1990 - Lifetime Achievement Award 1991 - Outstanding Member and Distinguished Professional Achievement Award

1997 Scholar Hall of Fame Award

Thank you for listening