B. F. Skinner: Myth and Misperception

Abstract

Although B. F. Skinner is probably the best known American psychologist, his provocative ideas have generated widespread controversy, and his deceptively simple theory lends itself to misunderstanding. We investigated the extent to which individuals hold misperceptions about Skinner's ideas. Subjects at various levels of education in psychology (N = 75) completed a truefalse questionnaire on Skinner's ideas. Results indicate that subjects at all levels of eduation hold several myths concerning Skinner's work. Implications of the results for the teaching of psychology, particularly Skinner's ideas, are discussed.