Skinner Speech: Mighty Effort

WASHINGTON - Well aware that he had only a short time to live, Dr. B.F. Skinner, widely considered to be America's pre-eminent psychologist, made a herculean effort to address his colleagues at the 98th Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) in Boston on Aug. 10. It was his last public appearance.

Agreeing to be the keynote speaker at the convention was, according to Dr. Raymond D. Fowler, APA chief executive officer, a personal sacrifice for Skinner.

``In the last stages of his illness,'' Fowler noted, ``he was fragile in body and limited in strength, but he accepted our invitation to speak and chose that occasion to make a very important statement about psychology as a discipline.''

Skinner was given a Presidential Citation for Lifetime Contribution to Psychology at the convention's opening session. He addressed an overflow ballroom audience for about 15 minutes without notes.

In his remarks, Skinner described the APA citation as ``probably the greatest honor in my life.'' But he also offered some characteristically sharp words for cognitive science, which he dubbed ``the creationism of psychology.'' As for the departure of cognitive scientists from the APA, Skinner said he regarded that ``not as a secession, but as an improvement.''

Skinner concluded his remarks by once again emphasizing the differences between cognitive science and his longtime specialty, behavior analysis: ``Looking back on my life - 62 years as a psychologist - I would say that what I have tried to do, that what I have been doing is to make that point clear. . . . Any evidence that I've been successful in that is what I would like to be remembered by.''

Commenting on Skinner's death Aug. 18 at the age of 86, Fowler said, ``While his loss is great, we are very fortunate to have had him as a brilliant and creative contributor to psychology for over half the history of our discipline.''

Dr. Lewis P. Lipsitt, APA executive director for science, added that ``perhaps Professor Skinner's greatest contribution to the science of psychology was his articulation of the principle that behavior has consequences and that these consequences, called reinforcement, can have important and lasting effects on subsequent development and behavior. He collected systematic data relating to this principle and believed that a humane approach to training children, and affecting other human beings, must take into consideration the reality of rewards in shaping behavior.''

The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, and is the world's largest association of psychologists.

The APA's membership includes more than 102,000 clinicians, researchers, educators, consultants and students.