… the educational institution cannot be be content merely with establishing standard repertoires of right answers but must also establish a repertoire with which the student may … arrive at the right answer under novel circumstances …” B. F. Skinner

The B. F. Skinner Foundation announces the creation of a new educational institution to disseminate user-friendly evidenced-based behavior analytic content across media platforms for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

The B. F. Skinner Institute‘s mission is to disseminate behavioral science and inspire the world to use positive reinforcement, not coercion.

We start by providing state-of-the-art interactive continuing education for professionals in the field of applied behavior analysis. Please check bfskinnerinstitute.com often, as the new courses are being prepared and posted. Coming soon:

David Palmer

The Behavior of the Listener

on-demand webinar for BACB Type 2 CEs

David C. Palmer, PhD

David C. Palmer studied inter-response times and conditioned reinforcement in pigeons at the University of Massachusetts under John Donahoe in the early 1980s. He completed his PhD on the blocking of conditioned reinforcement in 1988.

Upon graduation, he took a job teaching statistics and behavior analysis at Smith College, where he remains today. His interests in behavior analysis are broad, but his main contributions have all been attempts to extend Skinner’s interpretive accounts of human behavior, particularly in the domains of language, memory, problem solving, and private events. He remains convinced that behavioral principles offer an adequate foundation for interpreting such phenomena. Together with John Donahoe, he authored the text, Learning and Complex Behavior, which was an attempt to justify such optimism. This book integrates behavior analytic and biological approaches to the study of behavior and is regarded as being at the cutting edge of our basic understanding of behavior.

In about 50 journal articles, book chapters, reviews, and commentaries, Dr. Palmer has offered a far-reaching conceptual analysis of language and cognition from the standpoint of modern behaviorism, and has addressed fundamental issues such as the unit of analysis, response class, and private events.

We look forward to bring you webinars and online presentations by:

Darlene Crone-Todd, PhD

Francesca degli Espinosa, PhD

Brett DiNovi

Joyce Tu, BACB-D

Julie S. Vargas, PhD, and many others!

COMING IN 2020!!!

The Analysis of Behavior: A Program for Self-Instruction by James G. Holland and B. F. Skinner introduced behavior analysis to thousands of students.  The program produced a superior level of mastery than that obtained from textbooks. The program shaped basic behavioral concepts with small steps that built to teach increasingly complex skills. The 1961 version of the Holland and Skinner program went through several iterations: from mechanical teaching machines with printed disks, to a self-study book, and to a PC-only program that the B. F. Skinner Foundation distributed for several years through its website.  For years, the Foundation has received requests for a version that would work on any type of computer and that would provide student evaluations to instructors. Today we are announcing our plans to provide a state-of-the-art interactive version of Holland and Skinner’s The Analysis of Behavior through the bfskinnerinstitute.com.  The program will work on all Internet-connected devices and run on all operating systems.  The program will provide feedback not only to students, but to instructors when students register for courses. The original static figures will be replaced with improved graphics, video, or animations.

The B. F. Skinner Institute has more programs to develop. In addition to online offerings, it plans to host live conferences and events that continue disseminating behavioral science by building a culture of collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and interdisciplinary professionals.