B. F. Skinner was able to produce learned helplessness in birds, monkeys, dogs, and rats by alternating fixed-interval and variable-ratio schedules of reinforcement.

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B. F. Skinner did not produce learned helplessness in animals. Rather, this phenomenon was discovered by Martin Seligman and his colleagues through studies on dogs. They found that when dogs were exposed to uncontrollable shocks, they would later give up trying to escape even when the opportunity for escape was presented. Skinner's work focused more on operant conditioning and the effects of different schedules of reinforcement on behavior.

B F Skinner Was Able to Produce Learned Helplessness in Birds