I decided to write my essay on BF Skinner, whose full name is Burrhus Frederic. Skinner was born on March 20, 1904 and died on August 18, 1990. He is considered an influential psychologist, known as a proponent of behaviorism. Skinner became interested in the field of psychology through Ivan Pavlov's work on conditioned responding, Bertrand Russell's articles on behaviorism, and the ideas of John B. Watson, the founder of behaviorism (“World of Biology,” 2006). Skinner believed that people tend to work harder and learn faster when they are rewarded for doing something right than when they are punished for doing something wrong. In other words, he believed that humans learn behaviors through positive or negative reinforcement. Skinner called this theory Operant Conditioning. Starting in the 1930s, B.F. Skinner began to develop reinforcement learning techniques, terminology, and principles (Terry, 89). According to Skinner, reinforced behavior will be reinforced; however, behavior that is not reinforced will weaken. Skinner defined a reinforcer as anything that functions to increase the frequency of an operant response (Terry, 101). He conducted operant conditioning studies using rats and pigeons that he would place in a chamber called a "Skinner box." The Skinner box consisted of a lever or key, which a pigeon or mouse could operate to obtain food or water as reinforcement. This chamber was connected to electronic equipment that helped record the animal's keystrokes or lever presses to determine how behavior is established and maintained. According to the text, Skinner coined the label operant response, in contrast to the Pavlovian conditioned response, to indicate that… in the center of the paper… enforcement and punishment in their daily lives. Parents always use Skinner's techniques when it comes to persuading their children and teaching them right and wrong. Additionally, pet owners also use its concepts when trying to teach their pets how to behave or a new trick. Teachers also use his concepts when trying to instill good behavior in their students. As long as babies are born, pets are bought, and teachers are hired, Skinner's techniques will be used. His concepts will also be used in other situations. If it were not for his studies and dedication to behaviorism, we, as people, would likely have had difficulty learning how to shape and model good behavior in an individual. I can think of many scenarios where I have used Skinner's techniques and I believe I will continue to do so throughout my life.