Erin Leif, PhD, BCBA-D
Allison Parker, MA, BCBA
Externs, Association for Science in Autism Treatment
The B.F. Skinner Foundation is dedicated to preserving and sharing the works of one of the most influential behavioral scientists and scholars of the 20th century – B.F. Skinner! The Foundation provides valuable resources to current and future students of behavior analysis. The Foundation was formed in 1988 with the help of B.F. Skinner, and is now overseen by a board of directors which includes Skinner’s daughter, Dr. Julie Vargas.
The Foundation’s website offers a myriad of useful resources to people interested in behavior analysis. Many of Skinner’s texts have been converted into e-books, and are available for purchase along with $0.99 PDFs. Science and Human Behavior is currently available as a free, full-text download, and the foundation is also working to translate this text into several languages. Podcasts and audio books are also available for download on the website. The online website provides a short biography of Skinner along with video and audio recordings and family photographs from as early as 1904. There is also a library of Skinner’s published papers and a collection of his unpublished works. People who are interested in sharing papers, pictures, or other media copyrighted by B.F. Skinner Foundation may request to do so via the website.
The Skinner Foundation has had many accomplishments since its inception. The Foundation was responsible for bringing some of Skinner’s most important texts back into print, including The Behavior of Organisms, Schedules of Reinforcement, Verbal Behavior, Cumulative Record, and Beyond Freedom and Dignity. In 2006, an archival committee was formed to preserve historic materials related to Skinner and his work. The Foundation also offers a student research award through regional behavior analysis associations.
Students and teachers of behavior analysis alike are attracted to The Foundation and its website because of the incredibly valuable resources offered. The Foundation ensures that Skinner’s literary treasures and the heritage of the science of behavior analysis will be preserved and disseminated.
The free magazine, Operants, is another noteworthy resource offered by The B.F. Skinner Foundation. Operants began as a newsletter in 2014, and has since grown into a magazine which covers a wide variety of topics that may be of interest to behavioral science researchers and clinicians. The magazine includes interviews with leaders and pioneers in the field, as well as articles on special interest topics ranging from experimental behavior analysis to animal behavior.
Four issues of the magazine are published each year, and all include contributions from leading behavior analysts. You can access Operants by visiting www.bfskinner.org. Sign up to receive a free copy of the magazine via email, download PDF files of previous issues, or listen to the podcast today!
Citation for this article:
Leif, E. & Parker, A. (2017). Resource review: The Website for the B. F. Skinner Foundation. Science in Autism Treatment, 14(3), 27.
