What John B. Watson Meant to B. F. Skinner: The 1979 Symposium

Abstract This article introduces a 1979 symposium held at Furman University in honor of the centennial of John B. Watson’s birth and reproduces B. F. Skinner’s unpublished contribution to it. Watson was commemorated in presentations by James V. McConnell, Fred S. Keller, and Skinner. The introduction describes the symposium’s structure, the presenters’ professional records, and their views on Watson’s behaviorism, situating the speech within its historical context. McConnell offered a critical yet admiring view of Watson, whereas Keller emphasized Watson’s influence on behaviorism’s application, particularly in education. Skinner’s presentation, titled “What John B. Watson Meant to Me,” reflected on both his intellectual debt to Watson and their philosophical differences. This is likely the lengthiest and most in-depth of Skinner’s appreciations and analysis of Watson’s work. In publishing the presentation, the article contributes to the historiography of behavior analysis and clarifies the relationship between two of the most influential figures in the history of behaviorism.