The daughter of influential psychologist B.F. Skinner has publicly dismissed long-standing rumours that she was a subject in her father's early behavioural experiments. Deborah Skinner Buzan expressed her dismay and anger after the allegations were revived in a recent book review, stating, "Stop this rubbish about me and my dad."
The rumours, which have circulated for decades, suggest that B.F. Skinner, a prominent psychologist based at Harvard from the 1950s, used his infant daughter in his research. These claims have been given fresh impetus by Lauren Slater's new book, 'Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century', which, according to Skinner Buzan, reiterates the unfounded allegations.
Skinner Buzan described her reaction to reading the review in The Observer as one of intense distress, stating she was "shaking" by the time she had finished. She has consistently denied these claims throughout her life, asserting that her father did not conduct experiments on her. Instead, she has explained that her father invented an 'air-crib' – a climate-controlled cot designed for infant comfort and convenience, not experimental manipulation.
B.F. Skinner was a highly influential figure in the field of psychology, known for his work on operant conditioning and radical behaviourism. His research focused on how behaviour is affected by its consequences, often using animal subjects in controlled environments, famously with 'Skinner boxes'. The notion that he extended these methods to his own child has been a persistent and damaging whisper within the popular imagination, despite a lack of credible evidence.
The controversy highlights the often-blurred lines between scientific innovation, public perception, and personal experience, particularly when dealing with groundbreaking and sometimes controversial psychological theories. Skinner Buzan's latest intervention seeks to finally put to rest what she describes as "rubbish" that has shadowed her family for too long.