Not a psychologist per se but T. Berry Brazelton also goes by his middle name too ------Original Message------ From: Paul Brandon To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) ReplyTo: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Who put the BF in Skinner? Sent: Dec 16, 2009 2:04 PM
Besides, he never liked his given first name, and much preferred 'Fred'. Anecdote: I got this story from C. B. (Charlie) Ferster; one of Skinner's first grad students: Ferster (a frequent visitor at Skinner's home) once walked into Skinner's living room to find Skinner seated on a sofa with a sign around his neck saying FRED. On Dec 16, 2009, at 12:29 PM, Jim Dougan wrote: > At 12:22 PM 12/16/2009, you wrote: > > >> I could swear that your students will not know.Btw,why is he the >> only behavioral scienist we address with his first two inititials? >> We do not say P Brandon,C Green, S Black,or C Hull,so why the BF >> Skinner? >> Was there a Jaywalking episode where Jay Leno asked people what the >> BF stands for in BF Skinner? > > I am told by my graduate advisor (F.K. McSweeney) that it is > something of a Harvard tradition to publish that way. Herrnstein > sometimes went as R.J. Herrnstein. Stevens went by S.S. Stevens, > etc. They are respectively called "Fran" Dick" and "Smitty" by > friends - but they published using initials. Of course, Skinner's > friends called him "Fred" so he does not break the pattern. > > Of course there is JER Staddon and MEP Seligman if we want to go to > 3 initials. > > -- J.D. Dougan Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
