Learning & Teaching Foreign Languages

Burrhus Frederic Skinner

portrait de Burrhus Frederic Skinner

(USA 1904-1990)

B.F. Skinner was an influential Harvard psychologist whose 60 year career shaped the behaviorist school. As a student in psychology at Harvard, Skinner invented the operant conditioning chamber (reminiscent of Thorndike's rudimentary puzzle box), which he used to train rats and pigeons in a scientific manner, studying the causes and effects of the animals' behaviour. He is known for this theory of operant conditioning (training through reward) using different schedules of reinforcement (rates of reward).

 

Activities

  1. Watch: Operant conditioning
  2. Read and reflect: Verbal behavior
  3. Read more: Skinner

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