The contingent relationship between actions and their consequences lies at the heart of Skinner's experimental analysis of behavior. Particular patterns of behavior emerge depending upon the contingencies established. Though Ferster and Skinner examined the effects of differing schedules of reinforcement on the behavior of pigeons, the basic principles they discovered apply equally to the behavior of other species including human beings.
An extraordinary work, Schedules of Reinforcement compiles over 70,00 hours of research. At first glance, the book appears to be an atlas of schedules of reinforcement. And so it is--the most exhaustive in existence. But it is also a reminder of the power of describing and explaining behavior through an analysis of measurable and manipulative behavior-environment relations without appealing tophysiological mechanisms in the brain nor to speculative agencies such as the mind. As an exemplar and source for the further study of behavioral phenomena, the book illustrates the scientific philosophy that Skinner and Ferster adopted: that a science is best built from the ground up, from a firm foundation of facts which can eventually be summarized as scientific laws.
[From the back cover of Schedules of Reinforcement (1997). Acton, MA: Copley.]
Schedules of Reinforcement (ISBN 0-13-792309-0) was reprinted by the B. F. Skinner Foundation and is currently available from: