Particulars of My Life

by B.F. Skinner

Book by Skinner, B. F.

Genres: Psychology, Biography

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was a highly influential American psychologist, author, inventor, advocate for social reform and poet. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974. He invented the operant conditioning chamber, innovated his own philosophy of science called Radical Behaviorism, and founded his own school of experimental research psychology—the experimental analysis of behavior. His analysis of human behavior culminated in his work Verbal Behavior, which has recently seen enormous increase in interest experimentally and in applied settings. He discovered and advanced the rate of response as a dependent variable in psychological research. He invented the cumulative recorder to measure rate of responding as part of his highly influential work on schedules of reinforcement. In a recent survey, Skinner was listed as the most influential psychologist of the 20th century. He was a prolific author, publishing 21 books and 180 articles.

Reviews

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

B.F.Skinner is my idol, therefore this review may not be 100% unbiased. This is the first of a three-part autobiography that reveals Skinner's life before he plunged into behaviorism. From an early age, Skinner has a passion for creating things which sets a foundation for innovative ideas and inventions later in his career. His grandpa and dad plays an important role in providing encouragement for mechanical creativity. He talks fondly of a couple of teachers at his school who acts as a catalyst in igniting his passion for reading literature. He tries his hand on writing poetry but fails numerous times to construct grammatically correct sentences. His scavenges the library for good books to read and ponder over the meaning for hours (How can I not love him?!). He learns to play saxophone and piano, however, commercialism sweeps away his interest as he starts to play in a jazz band. He also fervently learns to play all of Mozart's sonatas after practicing his hand at Mozart's Third sonata (Funnily enough, I have recently started listening to classical music esp. Mozart's sonatas). His passion for writing develops and he creates his own space at home where he spends endless hours writing away. The idea of a study space like his makes perfect sense - I have one now! And his commitment towards his learning is exemplary, even in his early years of life.
I have yet to read the second and third part of his autobiography and I can envisage falling hopelessly in love with him!

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE FIRST OF THREE VOLUMES OF SKINNER'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990) was an American psychologist, social philosopher, and author. He was a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974, and perhaps the most influential behaviorist of the 20th century. His most famous books are 'Verbal Behavior,' 'Beyond Freedom & Dignity' and 'Walden Two.' The other volumes in his autobiography are 'Shaping of a Behaviorist' and 'A Matter of Consequences.'

Of his time in Sunday School, Skinner reports, "I remember one incident in that period: ashamed of myself for being afraid of a God I did not believe in I went about saying to myself, "God d___ Jesus Christ...'" (Pg. 61) But years later, he recorded in a journal, "I came to believe that I had received a divine message. The fervor of that revelation is yet possible to me as I recall the day... I cannot, now, trace the dissolution of the idea. I entered high school..." (Pg. 110-111) Later, he notes, "I began to reconsider my bold announcement to Miss Graves that I no longer believed in God... Inevitably I argued religion with other students... Uneasy about all this, I went to Bill Squires... With a voice quavering with emotion I said that I was worried because I had 'lost my faith.' He did little to help... I recovered my strength and the issue gradually faded." (Pg. 220)

Of his college time, he observes, "The result of my insensitivity to the counter-control exercised by my fellows was a reputation for conceit... I did not feel that I was superior to my fellow students; I simply wanted to make it clear that I was not inferior. And were we not ALL there to better ourselves?" (Pg. 200)

After graduation, "I set to work to become a writer... I fell into a routine. After breakfast I went to my attic study. I forced myself to work on a story ... In a short time I would turn to reading 'literary' things which, I could argue, would further my productivity... I had become a pipe smoker... To all external appearances, then, I was a writer." (Pg. 262-263) But he admits, "I was easily distracted from my life as a writer. Anything that yielded quicker and more substantial rewards took possession of me." (Pg. 271) He grouses in his journal, "The world considers me lazy because I do not earn bread. The world expects ... that if I 'got a job' for eight hours of office work... I should be a man. It's not so much my 'being a man' that people desire, it is my being one of them. I see clearly now that the only thing left for me to do in life is to justify myself for doing nothing." (Pg. 282-283)

He ultimately realizes, "I was interested in human behavior, but I had been investigating it the wrong way... Literature as an art form was dead; I would turn to science... The science that concerned itself with behavior (animals or human) was said to be psychology, about which I knew very little." (Pg. 291-292) After reading a book by Bertrand Russell that discussed John B. Watson, he concluded, "why should I hesitate? There was no reason at all. It was to be graduate study in psychology." (Pg. 301)

This book is interesting as background, but it provides limited insight into Skinner the behaviorist; turn to the next two volumes for that story.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember studying something about Skinner in my Psychology class, so I read this book. He writes well; it held my interest. But nothing spectacular.