Contingencies of Reinforcement. Chapter 2: Utopia as an Experimental Culture. Quote 1

Post author:B. F. Skinner Foundation
Post published:February 28, 2018
Post category:Skinner's Quote of the Day

“Everyone who went to heaven was to be happy, but it was not clear just why. No one, in fact, has ever portrayed a very interesting heaven.” (p. 31)

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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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“Everyone who went to heaven was to be happy, but it was not clear just why. No one, in fact, has ever portrayed a very interesting heaven.” (p. 31)

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