PSYCHOLOGIST
B. F. Skinner
1904 - 1990
B. F. Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of B. F. Skinner has received more than 5,579,396 page views. His biography is available in 65 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 59 in 2019). B. F. Skinner is the 23rd most popular psychologist (down from 19th in 2019), the 294th most popular biography from United States (down from 200th in 2019) and the 8th most popular American Psychologist.
B. F. Skinner is most famous for his operant conditioning, which is a type of behaviorism. This theory is based on the idea that behavior is shaped by its consequences.
Memorability Metrics
5.6M
Page Views (PV)
69.74
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
65
Languages Editions (L)
7.41
Effective Languages (L*)
4.39
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among PSYCHOLOGISTS
Among psychologists, B. F. Skinner ranks 23 out of 235. Before him are John B. Watson, Kurt Lewin, Daniel Kahneman, Irvin D. Yalom, Wilhelm Reich, and Edward Thorndike. After him are Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, Gustav Fechner, Karen Horney, Alfred Binet, and Hermann Ebbinghaus.
Most Popular Psychologists in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsJohn B. Watson
1878 - 1958
HPI: 71.63
Rank: 17
Kurt Lewin
1890 - 1947
HPI: 71.12
Rank: 18
Daniel Kahneman
1934 - 2024
HPI: 70.45
Rank: 19
Irvin D. Yalom
1931 - Present
HPI: 70.30
Rank: 20
Wilhelm Reich
1897 - 1957
HPI: 70.26
Rank: 21
Edward Thorndike
1874 - 1949
HPI: 70.09
Rank: 22
B. F. Skinner
1904 - 1990
HPI: 69.74
Rank: 23
Anna Freud
1895 - 1982
HPI: 69.64
Rank: 24
Melanie Klein
1882 - 1960
HPI: 69.59
Rank: 25
Gustav Fechner
1801 - 1887
HPI: 69.17
Rank: 26
Karen Horney
1885 - 1952
HPI: 68.92
Rank: 27
Alfred Binet
1857 - 1911
HPI: 68.89
Rank: 28
Hermann Ebbinghaus
1850 - 1909
HPI: 68.72
Rank: 29
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1904, B. F. Skinner ranks 10. Before him are Pablo Neruda, Reinhard Heydrich, Dr. Seuss, Umberto II of Italy, Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, and Jean Gabin. After him are Ève Curie, Johnny Weissmuller, George Gamow, Alexei Kosygin, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Graham Greene. Among people deceased in 1990, B. F. Skinner ranks 9. Before him are Greta Garbo, Roald Dahl, Leonard Bernstein, Louis Althusser, Alberto Moravia, and Ava Gardner. After him are Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Paulette Goddard, Sarah Vaughan, Norbert Elias, Lê Đức Thọ, and Sergei Parajanov.
Others Born in 1904
Go to all RankingsPablo Neruda
WRITER
1904 - 1973
HPI: 77.88
Rank: 4
Reinhard Heydrich
POLITICIAN
1904 - 1942
HPI: 77.24
Rank: 5
Dr. Seuss
WRITER
1904 - 1991
HPI: 74.61
Rank: 6
Umberto II of Italy
POLITICIAN
1904 - 1983
HPI: 72.93
Rank: 7
Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia
NOBLEMAN
1904 - 1918
HPI: 72.78
Rank: 8
Jean Gabin
ACTOR
1904 - 1976
HPI: 70.67
Rank: 9
B. F. Skinner
PSYCHOLOGIST
1904 - 1990
HPI: 69.74
Rank: 10
Ève Curie
WRITER
1904 - 2007
HPI: 69.72
Rank: 11
Johnny Weissmuller
SWIMMER
1904 - 1984
HPI: 69.12
Rank: 12
George Gamow
PHYSICIST
1904 - 1968
HPI: 68.83
Rank: 13
Alexei Kosygin
ENGINEER
1904 - 1980
HPI: 67.81
Rank: 14
Lal Bahadur Shastri
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1904 - 1966
HPI: 67.53
Rank: 15
Graham Greene
WRITER
1904 - 1991
HPI: 67.52
Rank: 16
Others Deceased in 1990
Go to all RankingsGreta Garbo
ACTOR
1905 - 1990
HPI: 74.05
Rank: 3
Roald Dahl
WRITER
1916 - 1990
HPI: 72.79
Rank: 4
Leonard Bernstein
COMPOSER
1918 - 1990
HPI: 72.11
Rank: 5
Louis Althusser
PHILOSOPHER
1918 - 1990
HPI: 70.83
Rank: 6
Alberto Moravia
WRITER
1907 - 1990
HPI: 70.55
Rank: 7
Ava Gardner
ACTOR
1922 - 1990
HPI: 69.82
Rank: 8
B. F. Skinner
PSYCHOLOGIST
1904 - 1990
HPI: 69.74
Rank: 9
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
WRITER
1921 - 1990
HPI: 68.81
Rank: 10
Paulette Goddard
ACTOR
1910 - 1990
HPI: 68.44
Rank: 11
Sarah Vaughan
SINGER
1924 - 1990
HPI: 68.01
Rank: 12
Norbert Elias
SOCIOLOGIST
1897 - 1990
HPI: 67.77
Rank: 13
Lê Đức Thọ
SOCIAL ACTIVIST
1911 - 1990
HPI: 67.68
Rank: 14
Sergei Parajanov
FILM DIRECTOR
1924 - 1990
HPI: 67.50
Rank: 15
In United States
Among people born in United States, B. F. Skinner ranks 294 out of 20,380. Before him are Eli Wallach (1915), Joe Dassin (1938), Lisa Marie Presley (1968), Tommy Lee Jones (1946), Jerry Brown (1938), and Percy Williams Bridgman (1882). After him are Robert E. Lee (1807), Ronnie James Dio (1942), P. T. Barnum (1810), John Wayne Gacy (1942), John Bardeen (1908), and Sandra Bullock (1964).
Others born in United States
Go to all RankingsEli Wallach
ACTOR
1915 - 2014
HPI: 69.80
Rank: 288
Joe Dassin
SINGER
1938 - 1980
HPI: 69.79
Rank: 289
Lisa Marie Presley
SINGER
1968 - 2023
HPI: 69.78
Rank: 290
Tommy Lee Jones
ACTOR
1946 - Present
HPI: 69.77
Rank: 291
Jerry Brown
POLITICIAN
1938 - Present
HPI: 69.76
Rank: 292
Percy Williams Bridgman
PHYSICIST
1882 - 1961
HPI: 69.74
Rank: 293
B. F. Skinner
PSYCHOLOGIST
1904 - 1990
HPI: 69.74
Rank: 294
Robert E. Lee
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1807 - 1870
HPI: 69.72
Rank: 295
Ronnie James Dio
MUSICIAN
1942 - 2010
HPI: 69.70
Rank: 296
P. T. Barnum
BUSINESSPERSON
1810 - 1891
HPI: 69.69
Rank: 297
John Wayne Gacy
EXTREMIST
1942 - 1994
HPI: 69.68
Rank: 298
John Bardeen
PHYSICIST
1908 - 1991
HPI: 69.68
Rank: 299
Sandra Bullock
ACTOR
1964 - Present
HPI: 69.68
Rank: 300
Among PSYCHOLOGISTS In United States
Among psychologists born in United States, B. F. Skinner ranks 8. Before him are John Dewey (1859), William James (1842), Carl Rogers (1902), John B. Watson (1878), Irvin D. Yalom (1931), and Edward Thorndike (1874). After him are Howard Gardner (1943), Gordon Allport (1897), Paul Ekman (1934), Jerome Bruner (1915), Lawrence Kohlberg (1927), and Milton H. Erickson (1901).
John Dewey
1859 - 1952
HPI: 75.21
Rank: 2
William James
1842 - 1910
HPI: 74.14
Rank: 3
Carl Rogers
1902 - 1987
HPI: 73.59
Rank: 4
John B. Watson
1878 - 1958
HPI: 71.63
Rank: 5
Irvin D. Yalom
1931 - Present
HPI: 70.30
Rank: 6
Edward Thorndike
1874 - 1949
HPI: 70.09
Rank: 7
B. F. Skinner
1904 - 1990
HPI: 69.74
Rank: 8
Howard Gardner
1943 - Present
HPI: 67.64
Rank: 9
Gordon Allport
1897 - 1967
HPI: 67.29
Rank: 10
Paul Ekman
1934 - Present
HPI: 67.15
Rank: 11
Jerome Bruner
1915 - 2016
HPI: 67.14
Rank: 12
Lawrence Kohlberg
1927 - 1987
HPI: 66.51
Rank: 13
Milton H. Erickson
1901 - 1980
HPI: 65.59
Rank: 14