B.F. Skinner: A Life - Softcover

Bjork, Daniel W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1557984166 ISBN 13: 9781557984166

Publisher: Amer Psychological Assn, 1997

Synopsis

This reissued biography of one of the world's most eminent psychologists will appeal to interested general readers as much as it will to psychologists. Accessible and engaging, it brings Skinner fully to life, describing his youth, family, and education; his early and lingering desires to become famous as a writer or artist; his lifelong fascination with literary and "bohemian" figures; his difficault marriage; and his devotion to his children. The author strips away many misconceptions about the great behaviorist. The result is a fascinating narrative of a fascinating life, of the astounding breakthroughs Skinner made as a researcher, and the lasting influences that his work has on the science of psychology.

About this title

About the Author:

Daniel W. Bjork is Professor of History at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas.

From Kirkus Reviews:

A fair-minded, insightful portrayal of the life and ideas of one of America's most controversial thinkers, by Bjork (History/St. Mary's University). Born to an undistinguished middle-class family in central Pennsylvania, Skinner survived an awkward youth. Initially keen to be a writer, he abandoned storytelling in order to pursue graduate work at Harvard, where he made his mark in a dissertation that boldly challenged prevailing trends in academic psychology. Deemed igid and fanatical but also recognized as brilliant, Skinner built a reputation as a behavioral scientist at universities in Minnesota and Indiana, where, in the postwar years, his interest in social invention first received national attention through his controlled- environment air-crib (better known as the ``baby box''). His desire to improve society through systematic behavioral control and positive reinforcement also manifested itself in two widely read books, Walden Two and Beyond Freedom and Dignity, the latter of which ignited a firestorm of protest, when published in 1971, for its assault on ideas dear to freedom-loving Americans. By then near the end of his career at Harvard, Skinner maintained a productive scholarly life in spite of increasing isolation, battling deafness and blindness before dying of leukemia in 1990. More engaging when discussing ideas than when probing Skinner's roots or private life, and hardly the definitive biography; but, even so, Bjork gives a clear view of an American original whom posterity could judge more kindly than did his contemporaries. (Photos) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Amer Psychological Assn
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1557984166
• ISBN 13: 9781557984166
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 298