B. F. Skinner (born Burrhus Frederic Skinner)

E3082

author behaviorist human inventor psychologist

B. F. Skinner was an influential American psychologist and behaviorist best known for developing the theory of operant conditioning and pioneering experimental analysis of behavior.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (6)

Label	Occurrences
B. F. Skinner	30
Burrhus Frederic Skinner	4
Skinner	4
B. F. Skinner (born Burrhus Frederic Skinner) canonical	1
Burrhus	1
Skinner (namesake not specified)	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T24305 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: B. F. Skinner (born Burrhus Frederic Skinner)
Context triple: [Armstrong, hasNotableBearer, B. F. Skinner (born Burrhus Frederic Skinner)]

A. Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, and political activist widely regarded as the founder of modern linguistics and a prominent critic of U.S. foreign policy.
B. Claude Shannon
Claude Shannon was an American mathematician and electrical engineer known as the "father of information theory" for founding the mathematical framework underlying digital communication and data compression.
C. Vannevar Bush
American electrical engineer and science administrator (1890~1974)
D. Harold A. Wheeler
Harold A. Wheeler was an influential American electrical engineer and inventor known for his pioneering contributions to radio and radar technology.
E. Richard Bolt
Richard Bolt was an American acoustician and co-founder of the influential research and engineering firm Bolt Beranek and Newman, known for its pioneering work in acoustics and computer networking.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: B. F. Skinner (born Burrhus Frederic Skinner)
Target entity description: B. F. Skinner was an influential American psychologist and behaviorist best known for developing the theory of operant conditioning and pioneering experimental analysis of behavior.

A. Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, and political activist widely regarded as the founder of modern linguistics and a prominent critic of U.S. foreign policy.
B. Claude Shannon
Claude Shannon was an American mathematician and electrical engineer known as the "father of information theory" for founding the mathematical framework underlying digital communication and data compression.
C. Vannevar Bush
American electrical engineer and science administrator (1890~1974)
D. Harold A. Wheeler
Harold A. Wheeler was an influential American electrical engineer and inventor known for his pioneering contributions to radio and radar technology.
E. Richard Bolt
Richard Bolt was an American acoustician and co-founder of the influential research and engineering firm Bolt Beranek and Newman, known for its pioneering work in acoustics and computer networking.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (52)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	author ⓘ behaviorist ⓘ human ⓘ inventor ⓘ psychologist ⓘ
academicDegree	PhD in psychology ⓘ
awardReceived	American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions ⓘ linked to: American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award National Medal of Science ⓘ
conceptCoined	operant conditioning ⓘ reinforcement (behavioral psychology) ⓘ shaping (behavioral psychology) ⓘ
countryOfCitizenship	United States of America ⓘ
dateOfBirth	1904-03-20 ⓘ
dateOfDeath	1990-08-18 ⓘ
educatedAt	Hamilton College ⓘ linked to: Union College Harvard University ⓘ
employer	Harvard University ⓘ Indiana University ⓘ University of Minnesota ⓘ
familyName	Skinner ⓘ linked to: B. F. Skinner (born Burrhus Frederic Skinner)
fieldOfWork	behaviorism ⓘ experimental analysis of behavior ⓘ psychology ⓘ
fullName	Burrhus Frederic Skinner ⓘ linked to: B. F. Skinner (born Burrhus Frederic Skinner)
givenName	Burrhus ⓘ linked to: B. F. Skinner (born Burrhus Frederic Skinner)
influenced	applied behavior analysis ⓘ behavior therapy ⓘ education technology ⓘ
invented	cumulative recorder ⓘ operant conditioning chamber ⓘ
knownFor	Skinner box ⓘ experimental analysis of behavior ⓘ operant conditioning ⓘ programmed instruction ⓘ radical behaviorism ⓘ schedules of reinforcement ⓘ verbal behavior theory ⓘ
languageOfWorkOrName	English ⓘ
movement	behaviorism ⓘ linked to: radical behaviorism
nationality	American ⓘ
notableWork	Beyond Freedom and Dignity ⓘ Science and Human Behavior ⓘ The Behavior of Organisms ⓘ Verbal Behavior ⓘ Walden Two ⓘ
placeOfBirth	Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, United States ⓘ
placeOfDeath	Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States ⓘ linked to: Cambridge, Massachusetts
positionHeld	professor of psychology ⓘ
sexOrGender	male ⓘ
spouse	Yvonne Blue Skinner ⓘ
theoryDeveloped	operant conditioning ⓘ radical behaviorism ⓘ

How these facts were elicited