fei75766_ch16_495-533.indd 501  02/06/20 01:34 PM
Chapter 16    Skinner: Behavioral Analysis501
In1945, Skinner leftMinnesota tobecome chair ofthepsychology department 
atIndiana University, amove thatadded more frustrations. Hiswifehadambivalent 
feelings about leaving friends, hisadministrative duties proved irksome, andhestill
feltoutofthemainstream ofscientific psychology. However, hispersonal crisis was
soon toend,andhisprofessional career would takeanother turn.
Inthesummer of1945, while onvacation, Skinner wrote Walden Two, a
utopian novel thatportrayed asociety inwhich problems weresolved through behav -
ioralengineering. Although notpublished until1948, thebook provided itsauthor 
withimmediate therapy intheform ofanemotional catharsis. Atlast,Skinner had
done what hefailed toaccomplish during hisDark Year nearly 20years earlier. Skin-
ner(1967) admitted thatthebook’s twomain characters, Frazier andBurris, repre -
sented hisattempt toreconcile twoseparate aspects ofhisownpersonality. Walden 
Twowasalsoabenchmark inSkinner’s professional career. Nolonger would he
beconfined tothelaboratory study ofratsandpigeons, butthereafter hewould be
involved withtheapplication ofbehavioral analysis tothetechnology ofshaping 
human behavior. Hisconcern withthehuman condition waselaborated inScience 
and Human Behavior (1953) andreached philosophical expression inBeyond Free -
dom and Dignity (1971). 
In1948, Skinner returned toHarvard, where hetaught mostly intheCollege 
ofEducation andcontinued withsome small experiments withpigeons. In1964, at
age60,heretired from teaching butretained faculty status. Forthenext10years, 
hetooktwo5-year federal career grants thatallowed himtocontinue towrite and
toconduct research. Heretired asprofessor ofpsychology in1974 butcontinued 
asprofessor emeritus, withfewchanges inhisworking conditions. After heretired 
from teaching in1964, Skinner wrote several important books onhuman behav -
iorthathelped himattain thestatus ofAmerica’s best-known living psychologist. 
Inaddition toBeyond Freedom and Dignity (1971), hepublished About Behaviorism 
(1974), Reflections on Behaviorism and Society (1978), andUpon Further Reflection 
(1987a). During thisperiod, healsowrote athree-volume autobiography, Particulars 
of My Life (1976a), The Shaping of a Behaviorist (1979), andA Matter of Conse -
quences (1983).
OnAugust 18,1990, Skinner diedofleukemia. Oneweek before hisdeath, he
delivered anemotional address totheAmerican Psychological Association (APA) 
convention inwhich hecontinued hisadvocacy ofradical behaviorism. Atthiscon-
vention, hereceived anunprecedented Citation forOutstanding Lifetime Contribu -
tiontoPsychology, theonlyperson toreceive such anaward inthehistory ofAPA. 
During hiscareer, Skinner received other honors andawards, including serving as
William James Lecturer atHarvard, being granted the1958 APA Distinguished 
Scientific Award, andwinning thePresident’s Medal ofScience. 
Precursors to Skinner’s  
Scientific Behaviorism
Forcenturies, observers ofhuman behavior haveknown thatpeople generally do
those things thathavepleasurable consequences andavoid doing those things that
havepunitive consequences. However, thefirstpsychologist tosystematically study Final PDF to printer