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B. F. Skinner

B. F. Skinner Quotes

Psychologist

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Famous B. F. Skinner Quotes

“We have seen that in certain respects operant reinforcement resembles the natural selection of evolutionary theory. Just as genetic characteristics which arise as mutations are selected or discarded by their consequences, so novel forms of behavior are selected or discarded through reinforcement.”

FormCertainNaturalNovelTheoryBehaviorConsequenceAriseCharacteristicsSelectionNatural SelectionSelectedDiscardedMutationReinforcement
Book:Science And Human Behavior
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“To say that a man is sinful because he sins is to give an operational definition of sin. To say that he sins because he is sinful is to trace his behavior to a supposed inner trait. But whether or not a person engages in the kind of behavior called sinful depends upon circumstances which are not mentioned in either question. The sin assigned as an inner possession (the sin a person "knows") is to be found in a history of reinforcement.”

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Author:B. F. Skinner
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“In the traditional view, a person is free. He is autonomous in the sense that his behavior is uncaused. He can therefore be held responsible for what he does and justly punished if he offends. That view, together with its associated practices, must be re-examined when a scientific analysis reveals unsuspected controlling relations between behavior and environment.”

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Author:B. F. Skinner
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“Better contraceptives will control population only if people will use them. A nuclear holocaust can be prevented only if the conditions under which nations make war can be changed. The environment will continue to deteriorate until pollution practices are abandoned. We need to make vast changes in human behavior.”

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Author:B. F. Skinner
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“I've had only one idea in my life - a true idee fixe. To put it as bluntly as possible - the idea of having my own way. 'Control!' expresses it. The control of human behavior. In my early experimental days it was a frenzied, selfish desire to dominate. I remember the rage I used to feel when a prediction went awry. I could have shouted at the subjects of my experiments, 'Behave, damn you! Behave as you ought!”

WayFeelsHumansIdeasRememberUsedDesireMy OwnSubjectsOughtBehaviorRageSelfishExperimentsDamnBehavePredictionsHuman BehaviorDamn YouSelfish Desire
Author:B. F. Skinner
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