B.F. Skinner Foundation

B.F. Skinner Foundation The B. F. Skinner Foundation promotes the science founded by B. Skinner and supports the practices derived from that science.

In so doing, the Foundation advances a more humane world by replacing coercive techniques with positive procedures.

12/19/2025

If Skinner made your career possible, it's time to give back. 🙏

Board Member Dr. Vince Carbone has a message for behavior analysts:
"I've had the great privilege of spending my career in the field of behavior analysis, a science that has allowed me to help others in important ways. None of that would've been possible without the extraordinary work of B.F. Skinner.

Skinner's ideas didn't just shape a field - they changed lives. If you're a behavior analyst, chances are they changed yours too.

Skinner gave us a science rooted in optimism - a belief that through understanding behavior we can improve the human condition.

The Foundation preserves that legacy by publishing his works, maintaining the archives, supporting students and researchers, and ensuring his contributions are not forgotten or misunderstood.

If Skinner's work made your career possible, if it inspired your teaching, guided your practice, or fueled your research - then I ask you to give something back.

A donation is more than a financial gift. It's a statement that you value the history of our science and want it carried forward with care, accuracy, and passion."

Honor Skinner's legacy today: https://donorbox.org/support-the-b-f-skinner-foundation

Remember, every dollar donated until 12/31/2025 up to $15,000 is being generously matched by a donor! DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT TODAY!

A living legacy that crosses borders. 🌎Dr. Anna Queiroz from Brazil shares how the B.F. Skinner Foundation became her ga...
12/18/2025

A living legacy that crosses borders. 🌎

Dr. Anna Queiroz from Brazil shares how the B.F. Skinner Foundation became her gateway to behavioral science when she was unable to access Skinner's books in her country.

'It was pure warmth and welcome... a turning point in my theoretical and practical training.'

For over 20 years, the Foundation has been connecting scholars worldwide, making Skinner's work accessible to those who need it most.

'Skinner represents humanity, commitment, and social responsibility.'

Help us continue building bridges across borders: https://donorbox.org/support-the-b-f-skinner-foundation

"

12/18/2025

📢 Season 2, Episode 5 of Dialogues on Verbal Behavior is LIVE! 🎙️

👂 The Behavior of the Listener: Part 1
In this episode, David Roth and Dave Palmer return to explore the third article added to the Extended Edition of Verbal Behavior: "The Behavior of the Listener."

Published in 1989, just one year before Skinner’s passing, this paper stands as perhaps his final and a significant contribution to the field.

Start your deep dive here:

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/33CFp4Zv6H3Y1ADCszwgV7

🍏 Apple Podcasts: Listen on Apple Podcasts

Hit play and explore the science behind how we listen!

12/17/2025

🎯 We're 85% of the way to our $15K match goal! 🎯

Thanks to supporters like you, we're just $2,250 away from unlocking the full match and doubling our impact for the B.F. Skinner Foundation.

Your gift right now will be MATCHED dollar-for-dollar—meaning twice the support for advancing the science of behavior and Skinner's legacy of improving lives through understanding human behavior and shaping a kinder world.

Help us close the gap before year-end! Every donation counts.

Donate now: donorbox.org/support-the-b-f-skinner-foundation

25 years later, more relevant than ever. 📈Foundation supporter Dr. Henry Schlinger explains why preserving Skinner's wor...
12/17/2025

25 years later, more relevant than ever. 📈

Foundation supporter Dr. Henry Schlinger explains why preserving Skinner's work matters:
"No one contributed more to the experimental and theoretical understanding of behavior than Skinner, and 25 years after his death, his work has only grown in importance and relevance."

Skinner's contributions have influenced intellectual and scientific areas far beyond behavior analysis - and the B.F. Skinner Foundation ensures his writings remain readily available to anyone interested in using behavioral science to make the world a better place.

Help us continue this vital work: https://donorbox.org/support-the-b-f-skinner-foundation

🗣️ Everyone has the right to communicate. 💬Advisory Board Member and Social Media Coordinator Nikia Dower explains how B...
12/16/2025

🗣️ Everyone has the right to communicate. 💬

Advisory Board Member and Social Media Coordinator Nikia Dower explains how B.F. Skinner's work gives practitioners the tools to change lives through science - not guesswork.

"Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior validated the way I see communication: as a learned, shaped, functional human behavior that everyone has the right to access."

Learning about verbal behavior inspired Nikia to pursue her BCBA credential. As both a Speech-Language Pathologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst for the last 20 years, she applies Skinner's principles in her private practice for all learners and advocates for autistic individuals, AAC users, and anyone whose voice has been underestimated.

"His behavioral science allowed me to improve outcomes ethically, compassionately, and measurably - this aligns with my deepest value: no one should be left behind because we failed to teach them in a way they could learn."

Help us continue Shaping A Kinder World: https://donorbox.org/support-the-b-f-skinner-foundation

12/15/2025

Shaping A Kinder World Starts With You

As the year comes to a close, we invite you to support a science that changes the world.

The B.F. Skinner Foundation preserves Skinner’s legacy and advances it through safeguarding archives, funding innovative research, and sharing free global resources such as Operants magazine.

💛 This season, your support goes even further:
Thanks to a generous donor, every dollar — up to $15,000 — will be matched through Dec 31, 2025.

Your gift can be DOUBLED to help us sustain behavioral science for a more humane world.

🎁 Become a Monthly Sustainer:
Your ongoing commitment ensures the future of Skinner’s work and empowers the next generation of scholars and practitioners.

👆 Click the link in bio / below to join our reinforcement schedule today.
Set it — and sustain it.

https://donorbox.org/support-the-b-f-skinner-foundation

12/14/2025

"To understand is to forgive."

In A Matter of Consequences: Part Three of an Autobiography, B.F. Skinner reflected on one of life's most profound truths: we cannot erase our histories. We can only add to them.

"Just as one learns to live with one's physical limitations, so one can learn to live with one's behavioral deficiencies. One may add to a personal history but never take it away. One can never not be the person one has become."

This isn't resignation—it's liberation.

When we understand that behavior has causes—shaped by our histories, environments, and circumstances—judgment transforms into compassion. We stop asking "Why are you like this?" and start asking "What shaped this?"

For ourselves: self-criticism becomes self-understanding. We can't undo the past, but we can shape new patterns forward.

For others: blame becomes curiosity. We see not character flaws, but learning histories. Not moral failings, but contingencies.

To understand is to forgive isn't about excusing harm. It's about recognizing that punishment rarely teaches what we hope it will, while understanding opens the door to actual change.

This is how we shape a kinder world ~ by replacing judgment with insight, one person at a time.

Your gift makes this work possible. The B.F. Skinner Foundation spreads behavioral science that helps people understand themselves and others with greater compassion and effectiveness.

✨ DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT! Every donation is matched up to $15,000 through December 31, 2025.

Join us in Shaping A Kinder World, one where understanding leads to healing, growth, and genuine change.

Donate today: https://donorbox.org/support-the-b-f-skinner-foundation

The Hardest Part of Helping? Knowing When NOT To.In Notebooks, B.F. Skinner captured a powerful moment:Nearly ten-year-...
12/13/2025

The Hardest Part of Helping? Knowing When NOT To.

In Notebooks, B.F. Skinner captured a powerful moment:
Nearly ten-year-old Lisa struggled with a stubborn jar lid. His instinct? Jump in and help. But he paused.

Lisa persisted. She figured it out. And she built skills for next time.

Then Skinner asked himself the tougher question: What if she'd gotten frustrated? Started swearing? Jabbing at the lid in anger?

His answer surprised even him: Still don't help.

Why? Because helping in response to frustration teaches children that anger and dramatics work better than persistence. We accidentally reinforce the very behaviors that undermine their developing competence.

The wisdom: Help when help is truly needed—before frustration sets in. Don't create impossible challenges. But if frustration happens? Let it pass, then assist.
It's counterintuitive. It's hard. But it's how we shape resilient, capable, confident people.

This is the power of behavioral science: understanding not just what to do, but when and why.

Help us share this knowledge. The B.F. Skinner Foundation makes evidence-based wisdom accessible to parents, educators, and caregivers everywhere.

✨ Your gift DOUBLES through December 31! A generous donor is matching all contributions up to $15,000.

Together, we're Shaping A Kinder World—one where we help children build strength, not dependence.

Donate today: https://donorbox.org/support-the-b-f-skinner-foundation



Full quote in comments ⬇⬇
BF Skinner, Notebooks, From a passage titled: Shall I Ever Learn?

What happens to a legacy when materials are lost, discarded, or deteriorate over time? 📜Dr. Celia Heyman explains why th...
12/12/2025

What happens to a legacy when materials are lost, discarded, or deteriorate over time? 📜

Dr. Celia Heyman explains why the B.F. Skinner Foundation's archival project is so critical - it rescues and safeguards irreplaceable materials so future generations can continue learning from Skinner's work.

Without preservation efforts like this, behavioral science history could be lost forever.

Help us protect this legacy by giving today which also helps to continue shaping a kinder world: https://donorbox.org/support-the-b-f-skinner-foundation

And , every dollar donated until Dec 31 up to $15,000 is being matched by a generous supporter of the Foundation!

🥳New Release: Upon Further Reflection – Extended Edition (PDF) Now Available! 🥳The B. F. Skinner Foundation is proud to ...
12/12/2025

🥳New Release: Upon Further Reflection – Extended Edition (PDF) Now Available! 🥳

The B. F. Skinner Foundation is proud to announce that the electronic edition of Upon Further Reflection: Extended Edition is now available in our online store.

Originally published in 1987, this volume brings together 14 papers written by B. F. Skinner between 1981–1986, a period marked by clarity, practicality, and reflection on the future of behavioral science.

For the new extended edition, we’ve added several significant articles and commentaries by Skinner, including:
• A Fable (1988)
• A Thinking Aid (1987)
• War, Peace, and Behavior Analysis: Some Comments (1988)
• A Humanistic Version of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (1987)
• B. F. Skinner: An Autobiography

Together, these works deepen Skinner’s “commitment to an experimental analysis of behavior and its use in the interpretation of human affairs,” illustrating his enduring optimism about applying behavioral science to both individual and societal challenges.

This edition also features a new foreword by Dr. Hank Schlinger.

Download the PDF today:
https://www.bfskinner.org/product/upon-further-reflection-extended-edition-pdf/

Name your price, but the minimum is $10!

The printed version will be available in the Foundation store in the coming weeks—stay tuned.

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