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A Link Between the Arts and the Sciences? B. F. Skinner’s Concept of Contingencies of Reinforcement

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Let not the strong

Be cozened By Is and Isn’t

Was and Wasn’t.

Truth’s to be sought

In Does and Doesn’t.

Decline To be.

—B. F. Skinner

Abstract

B. F. Skinner’s concept of contingencies of reinforcement may be a crucial one for understanding the relationship between the arts and the sciences in that each involves processes and products of human behavior. An operant interpretation based mainly on excerpts of the works of two modern novelists is used to illustrate some of the implications of the concept for the literary artist.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Development, College of Education, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, 19711, USA

    George Brabner Jr.

Authors
  1. George Brabner Jr.
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Brabner, G. A Link Between the Arts and the Sciences? B. F. Skinner’s Concept of Contingencies of Reinforcement. Psychol Rec 29, 57–64 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394589

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394589

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