Contingencies of Reinforcement: A Theoretical Analysis, Preface, Quote 1

Post author:B. F. Skinner Foundation
Post published:January 3, 2018
Post category:Skinner's Quote of the Day

“To guess who is calling when the phone rings seems somehow more admirable than to pick up the phone and find out, although one picks up the phone to confirm the guess.” (p. ix)

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SKINNER'S QUOTE OF THE DAY

Verbal Behavior: Extended Edition. Chapter 4: Verbal Behavior under the Control of Verbal Stimuli. Quote 16
Echoic responses are useful and reinforced when they serve as fill-ins. In answer to the question What will happen to the international situation during the next few weeks? the student may begin During the next few weeks, the international situation…, which may be purely echoic but, especially if the situation demands speed, self-reinforcing if it provides a breathing space for the composition of the rest of the sentence. (p. 57)
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“To guess who is calling when the phone rings seems somehow more admirable than to pick up the phone and find out, although one picks up the phone to confirm the guess.” (p. ix)

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