Final answer:
B. F. Skinner is called an environmentalist because he emphasized the environmental shaping of behavior via reinforcement and punishment in his behaviorist approach to psychology, using tools like the operant conditioning chamber (Skinner box) to demonstrate these concepts.
Step-by-step explanation:
B. F. Skinner was referred to as an environmentalist because he emphasized the role of the environment in shaping behavior through reinforcement and punishment. Skinner believed that all behavior, including personality development, is a result of the external stimuli and consequences an individual experiences. In his experimental work, Skinner demonstrated this environmental influence on behavior using the operant conditioning chamber, or the Skinner box, where animals learned to perform certain behaviors that were reinforced with rewards or diminished by punishment.
Skinner's approach differed significantly from Freudian psychology, as Skinner rejected the notion that personality is solely developed early in life, arguing that it continuously evolves through interactions with the environment. His behaviorist view positioned the environment as the primary driver of behavior, dismissing internal mental states as significant factors, which is why he is considered an environmentalist in the context of psychology.