Marian and Bob Bailey took one of their "Bird Brain Tic-Tac-Toe" units to an ABAI conference around 1978. While there, Marian and Bob met up with a friend and colleague from "Project Pelican", B.F. Skinner. Skinner tried a few times to beat the tic-tac-toe playing chickens but never managed to win! Bob talked with Skinner about the design of the hardware used in the machines being based on behavior principles and chickens' specific behavior. Skinner was impressed and suggested that they make a film about the origins of behavior principles and how the principles could be applied precisely and effectively. Marian and Bob agreed, and every year they would meet with Skinner and talk about making the film. Unfortunately, Skinner passed away before they were able to get started. Marian then realized that most of the pioneers of Behavior Analysis were getting older. She planned to capture the stories of 10 or so of the pioneers of the field. Marian called her first ten individuals, who all said yes to being interviewed. However, those individuals would suggest that Marian consider adding these other names to the project. The project mushroomed from there, and before they knew it, they had interviewed more than 200 individuals!

 

It is now our great honor to bring this project to a close by providing these beautiful interviews for everyone to enjoy and delight in our field's history. We hope that you all enjoy standing on the shoulder of these giants!