February 2023
Cumulative Record. Chapter 18: A Critique of Psychoanalytic Concepts and Theories. Quote 3
There is an alternative view [to the one held by some of Freud’s followers], however, which holds that Freud did not discover the mental apparatus but rather invented it, borrowing part of its structure from a traditional philosophy of human conduct but adding many novel features of his own devising. (p, 286)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 18: A Critique of Psychoanalytic Concepts and Theories. Quote 2
No matter what logicians may eventually make of this mental apparatus, there is little doubt that Freud accepted it as real rather than as a scientific construct or theory. One does not at the age of 70 define the goal of one’s life as the exploration of an explanatory fiction. (p. 286)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 18: A Critique of Psychoanalytic Concepts and Theories. Quote 1
Freud demonstrated that many features of behavior hitherto unexplained—and often dismissed as hopelessly complex or obscure—could be shown to be the product of circumstances in the history of the individual. (p. 285)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 17: Contingency Management in the Classroom. Quote 20
No matter how bad a teacher may be, he has at least one available reinforcer—dismissing his class . . . He should wait until the behavior of the class is as acceptable as it is likely to be and then dismiss. But almost inevitably he will do the wrong thing: he will tend to dismiss […]
Cumulative Record. Chapter 17: Contingency Management in the Classroom. Quote 19
Many problems in classroom management arise because the teacher reinforces students when they behave in objectionable ways . . . The teacher tends to do so “naturally,” and he will be dissuaded from doing so only when the effects of reinforcement have been made clear to him. (p. 280)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 17: Contingency Management in the Classroom. Quote 17
The training of a teacher should begin with basic principles. Everyone who intends to be a teacher should have a chance to see learning take place or, better, to produce visible learning himself, as by shaping the behavior of a rat or a pigeon. (pp. 279-280)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 17: Contingency Management in the Classroom. Quote 15
Students reinforced on a variable-ratio schedule will show a fantastic dedication if the schedule has been properly programmed. They will work for long periods of time with no reinforcement whatsoever, and are thus well prepared for a world in which reinforcements may indeed be rare. (p. 279)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 17: Contingency Management in the Classroom. Quote 13
. . . adults put jigsaw puzzles together and work crossword puzzles for no more obvious reason than that they come out right. In a good program the student makes things come out right; he makes things work; he brings order out of chaos. (p. 276)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 17: Contingency Management in the Classroom. Quote 10
Behavioral objectives remove much of the mystery from education, and teachers may feel demeaned when their task is reduced to less awesome dimensions. But the loss is more than offset by a greater sense of achievement. (p. 275)
Cumulative Record. Chapter 17: Contingency Management in the Classroom. Quote 8
Quite complex forms of behavior can be generated, often with surprising speed, through a series of stages leading to the terminal specifications. One actually “sees learning take place,” and the visibility is important. (p. 274)