Science and Human Behavior, Chapter 5: Operant Behavior, Quote 16

“It is possible, however, that some of the reinforcing effect of “sensory feed-back” is unconditioned. A baby appears to be reinforced by stimulation from the environment which has not been followed by primary reinforcement. The baby’s rattle is an example. The capacity to be reinforced in this way could have arisen in the evolutionary process, and it may have a parallel in the reinforcement we receive from simply “making the world behave.” Any organism which is reinforced by its success in manipulating nature, regardless of the momentary consequences, will be in a favored position when important consequences follow. (p. 78)

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