Person
B.F. Skinner
Psychologist — father of operant conditioning
Psychologist whose 1950s pigeon experiments established operant conditioning and the outsized power of variable (unpredictable) reward schedules over fixed ones — foundational to how modern habit-forming products are designed. Referenced, not interviewed, in Episode 13 and again in the year-end recap.
Discussed in
- Episode 13 — 13- What makes products like Instagram so addictive
- Episode 18 — 18- 8 nudges you need in 2020 (referenced)