B.F. Skinner

I did not need to be 'taught' to be scientific. It was a natural way of thinking.

The ideal of behaviorism is to eliminate coercion: to apply controls by changing the environment in such a way as to reinforce the kind of behavior that benefits everyone.

We shouldn't think about what people feel, but about what they do.

The human mind is a device for avoiding thought.

The self is a repertoire of behavior appropriate to a given set of contingencies.

I've often said that my rats have taught me more than I've taught them.

The trouble with most people is that they're not prepared to live in a world without punishment.

What is love except another name for the use of positive reinforcement? Or vice versa.

The world will never be saved by people who believe in free will.

I am not an atheist; I am a behaviorist.

The baby is an exquisite instrument, and we must learn to play it properly.

We are all controlled by the world, part of the time in rather crude ways, and part of the time very subtly.

The only way to tell whether a given event is reinforcing to a given organism under given conditions is to make a direct test.

Men build society and society builds men.

The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for doing them.

A scientist may not be sure of the answer, but he's often sure he can find one. And that's a condition which is clearly not enjoyed by philosophy.

The rat's behavior is lawful, and by lawful I mean it can be predicted and controlled.

I did not become a psychologist to cure the sick, but to understand the human condition.

The human organism is an amazing machine, but it is a machine nonetheless.

We are all controlled by our environment, and the only difference is whether we control the controller.