Burrhus Frederic Skinner and the "Skinner box".

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B.F Skinner

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born on March 20th 1904 in a small town in Pennsylvania.

His father was a layer and his mother was a strong and intelligent housewife.

His upbringing was old fashioned and hard working. Skinner was active and out going as a boy who loved the outdoors and building things. His life was not without its tragedies, in particular his brother who died at the age of sixteen.

Skinner received his BA in English from Hamilton College, which was in upstate New York. At Hamilton College, Skinner did not fit in well. He didn't enjoy the parties or football games, instead he wrote for the school paper. He also had to attend daily Chapel, which the school requested.
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Skinner wanted to be a writer and he did try by sending off poetry and short stories. After he graduated he built a study in his parents attic to help him concentrate but it just wasn't working out. In the end Skinner started writing newspaper articles on labour problems. Whilst doing this he lived in Greenwich Village in New York City, he was a bohemian.

After travelling for quite some time Skinner decided to go back to school, this time at Harvard. This is Skinner got his masters in psychology (1930), and his doctorate (1931). He ...

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