B. F. Skinner Quotes

‘A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.’ – B. F. Skinner

‘The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.’ – B. F. Skinner

‘The ideal of behaviorism is to eliminate coercion: to apply controls by changing the environment in such a way as to reinforce the kind of behavior that benefits everyone.’ – B. F. Skinner

‘The way positive reinforcement is carried out is more important than the amount.’ – B. F. Skinner

‘I did not direct my life. I didn’t design it. I never made decisions. Things always came up and made them for me. That’s what life is.’ – B. F. Skinner

‘The consequences of an act affect the probability of its occurring again.’ – B. F. Skinner

‘When you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it.’ – B. F. Skinner

‘Society attacks early, when the individual is helpless.’ – B. F. Skinner

‘The environment shapes people’s actions.’ – B. F. Skinner

‘Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.’ – B. F. Skinner