B.F. Skinner Foundation

07/15/2026

07/14/2026

⏰ Tuesday Sneak Peek!

There's something wonderfully honest about this week's invention: even B.F. Skinner struggled with clock-watching. ⏰

While tracking his daily working hours with a small electric clock, he noticed himself glancing at it constantly — enough to pull him right out of focus. So he built the simplest possible fix: a small cardboard flap taped over the clock face, meant to be lifted rather than glanced at.

It's a tiny piece of behavioral engineering, applied to his own habits. Add friction to the distraction, and the distraction takes care of itself.

Food for thought next time your phone screen is calling your name. 📱

Want to see more? Check back every Tuesday this summer for another sneak peek — the full exhibit opens this fall!

🗂️ Explore the archives: https://bfskinner.netx.net/portals/archives/ /home

07/11/2026

Have a question for a behaviorist?
Ask a Skinnerian!

Curious about behavior, learning, culture, language,
ethics, or everyday human action—from a Skinnerian
perspective? This is your chance to ask.

🧠📚 Dr. Francesca Degli Espinosa, PhD, BCBA-D, will
respond to questions through a Skinnerian lens—and
your question may be featured in an upcoming issue of
Operants.

📩 Submit your question by:
• Emailing [email protected]
• Or sending it directly to us via messages

Big questions, small questions, practical questions,
conceptual questions—we welcome them all.
Let’s keep the behavioral conversations going!

07/10/2026

ICYMI: Julie Vargas was inducted to the Women In Behavior Analysis’ Hall of Fame in 2022 🥳🥳

07/10/2026

🚨 Early Bird Registration is NOW OPEN! 🐦

Join us for the 2026 Fall Skinner Session: Verbal Behavior in Action on October 23, 2026 and earn 4.5 BACB Learning CEUs while exploring practical, evidence-based applications of verbal behavior.

💲 Early Bird Registration: Just $60

Whether you're a behavior analyst, educator, student, or professional interested in the science of verbal behavior, this virtual event will provide actionable strategies you can put into practice right away.

📅 Date: October 23, 2026
🎓 4.5 Learning CEUs
🐦 Early Bird Price: $60

Don't wait—lock in the lowest registration rate today!

🔗 Register now on : https://behaviorlive.com/conferences/SkinnerSession2026/home

07/07/2026

🥄 Tuesday Sneak Peek!

This week's gadget: a smaller spoon.
No, really.

B.F. Skinner — the man who revolutionized behavioral science — decided he was consuming too much caffeine and needed to cut back. His solution? Did he buy a smaller spoon? He did not. He made one. Out of a bigger spoon. 😂

The how is mostly speculation, but the evidence suggests he heated the original spoon, cut it, and bent it down to size. Look closely and you can even spot what appear to be vise marks where it was clamped during bending.

A world-class problem solver, using world-class tools, to solve a problem that… had a very simple off-the-shelf solution.

We love him for it. 🥄✨

Want to see more? Check back every Tuesday this summer for another sneak peek — the full exhibit opens this fall!

🗂️ Explore the archives: https://bfskinner.netx.net/portals/archives/ /home

07/06/2026

In case you missed this:

Eve Segal remained deeply respectful of Skinner throughout her career. She frequently acknowledged his influence and was considered one of the strongest advocates for preserving the integrity of radical behaviorism after his death. Many behavior analysts view her as one of the important links connecting Skinner's generation to later generations of scholars.

07/05/2026

Behavior analysts: Do you like creative writing? ✍️

We want your behavior-themed poems, prose, scripts, lyrics, screenplays, calligrams, ekphrastic pieces, and more!

A selection of submitted work will appear in the next OPERANTS issue or on our social channels. (We can't guarantee inclusion, but we'll be reading everything.)

What to send us:
📌 Your piece
📌 Whether your piece was written independently or with AI assistance
📌 A short bio
📌 Submit to [email protected]

07/04/2026

🎆 Happy Fourth of July from the B.F. Skinner Foundation! 🎆

Today we celebrate freedom, but B.F. Skinner would remind us that freedom isn't just the absence of restraint. It's the presence of environments that bring out our best.

Lasting change rarely comes from force. It comes from the conditions we create, the behaviors we reinforce, and the values we encourage along the way. 🇺🇸

So this Independence Day, let's celebrate more than fireworks and freedoms. Let's celebrate the everyday actions that sustain them: kindness 🤝, cooperation 🙌, curiosity 🔍, and civic engagement 🗳️.

Here's to building the conditions where people, and communities, can truly flourish.

Happy Fourth! 🎇

07/01/2026

🌽 Tuesday Sneak Peek: Bonus Edition!

We couldn't help ourselves. After this morning's corn-milking gadget reveal, the Skinner family came through with the recipe that started it all — B.F. Skinner's beloved corn pudding. 🎉

So if you've been wondering what exactly one does with milked corn… now you know. And with the 4th of July right around the corner, there's no better time to try it yourself. 🎆

Recipe is below — straight from the family. You're welcome. 😄

𝐁. 𝐅. 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐏𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠
A beloved family recipe — the very reason Skinner invented his corn-milking gadget.

Ingredients
✅ 3 cups fresh corn, cut off the cob (about 6 ears)
✅ 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
✅ 1/2 teaspoon sugar
✅ 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
✅ 1/16 teaspoon ground black pepper
✅ 1 1/2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
✅ 1 1/4 cups light cream or undiluted evaporated milk
✅ 3 eggs, separated

Steps
1. Prep the corn: Cut 3 cups fresh corn, cut off the cob (about 6 ears) off the cob. Be sure to scrape the cob well with the flat side of a knife to get out all the milk.
2. Mix the base: In a large mixing bowl, combine the corn with 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/16 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 1/2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, and 1 1/4 cups light cream or undiluted evaporated milk. Stir to combine.
3. Add egg yolks: Beat the egg yolks from your 3 eggs, separated, and add them to the corn mixture. Stir well.
4. Beat egg whites: In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they stand in soft peaks — not stiff. Gently fold into the corn mixture.
5. Bake in a water bath: Pour the mixture into a buttered 1-quart casserole. Place the casserole in a pan of hot water. Bake at 325°F for 75 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Serve: Serve hot. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Serves 6.

Tip: For the most "milky" corn, use Skinner's nail-board gadget — or the flat side of your knife — to scrape every last drop from the cob. Fresh summer corn makes all the difference!