JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS 1997, 30, 545–568 NUMBER 3(FALL 1997)

SKINNER AS SELF-MANAGER

ROBERT EPSTEIN

CAMBRIDGE CENTER FOR BEHAVIORAL STUDIES AND SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY

B. F. Skinner was a remarkably productive, creative, and happy individual, in large part because of his expertise in self-management, a set of self-change skills that derive to some extent from his own scientific and theoretical work. Skinner’s ardent defense of deter- minism appears to conflict with his views on self-control; although determinism can be reconciled with these views, we would be best served by dispensing with the ‘‘ism’’ and focusing instead on relevant data and data-driven theories. Contemporary research on self-control has diverged from Skinner’s formulation in a number of ways, especially in focusing on cognition and choice. The extraordinary success Skinner had in applying self-management principles to his life should inspire us to take a closer look at the potential value such principles may have for society. DESCRIPTORS: B. F. Skinner, self-control, self-management

Give a man a fish and he won’t be hun- Skinner was, and still is, controversial. His gry. book, Beyond Freedom and Dignity, was a Teach a man to fish and he will never best-seller in 1971, but most of the reviews be hungry. were caustic. Skinner was a fascist, some The Talmud said. His views were Machiavellian. He would rob us of our freedom and our dignity Two decades ago, when I was 23, my and use the behavioral sciences to control mother announced to the members of her our every move (consider Agnew, 1972; mah-jongg club that I was spending the Chomsky, 1971; Claiborne, 1971; Marwell, summer working with B. F. Skinner. Trying 1972; Rubenstein, 1971; ‘‘Skinner’s Uto- to be gracious, one of her friends replied, pia,’’ 1971; cf. Carpenter, 1974; Catania & ‘‘How nice! Isn’t that a toothpaste compa- Harnad, 1988; Machan, 1974; Modgil & ny?’’ Modgil, 1987; Proctor & Weeks, 1990). It annoyed me to be reminded that not In 1968 Skinner was awarded the Nation- everyone knew who Skinner was. He had al Medal of Science by President Johnson; in been my idol since I learned about his work 1971, he received the Gold Medal of the in a college psychology course in 1971, and American Psychological Foundation; and in I had spent the next 5 years collecting and 1972, he was given the Humanist of the Year reading everything he had ever published. To Award of the American Humanist Associa- me, he was the most outstanding scientist tion. His early research with rats and pigeons and thinker of our time, and behaviorism, had helped to lay a foundation for the dis- the school of psychology he had helped to create, was the key to solving humanity’s ills. ciplines variously called behavior therapy, Not everyone shared my views. In fact, behavior analysis, behavior modification, the experimental analysis of behavior, and be- I am grateful to Julie S. Vargas and the B. F. Skinner havioral medicine, which, between them, ac- Foundation for providing access to Professor Skinner’s count for more than 20 academic journals study. (also see Bellack, Hersen, & Kazdin, 1990; Direct correspondence to the author at 933 Wood- lake Drive, Cardiff by the Sea, California 92007 Blechman & Brownell, 1988; Catania & (E-mail: [email protected]). Brigham, 1978; Eysenck & Martin, 1987;

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Gentry, 1984; Melamed & Siegel, 1980; volume of his autobiography, and the fol- Rimm & Masters, 1979; Sjoden, Bates, & lowing year I was admitted to the doctoral Dockens, 1979). Skinner’s work also in- program in psychology at Harvard, where he spired improvements in child-rearing tech- was Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology niques (Becker, 1971; Patterson, 1975; Emeritus. Stewart & Vargas, 1990), training methods Each day of our collaboration brought for developmentally disabled children (Her- new projects and new excitement, and, as I sen, van Hasselt, & Matson, 1983; Matson got to know Skinner better, my awe began & McCartney, 1981; Thompson & Gra- to subside. He insisted, for one thing, that bowski, 1977; Whitman, Scibak, & Reid, I call him ‘‘Fred,’’ and it’s hard to be in awe 1983), psychopharmacology and substance of someone named Fred (his full name is abuse treatment (Blackman & Sanger, 1978; Burrhus Frederic Skinner). We worked to- Goldberg & Stolerman, 1986; Grabowski, gether every day for 5 years at his home, at Stitzer, & Henningfield, 1984; Iversen, Iver- his office, and, ultimately, at the Columban sen, & Snyder, 1987; Krasnegor, 1979; Mc- Simulation Laboratory, a new laboratory we Kim, 1986), management and productivity created roughly 20 years after he had aban- techniques in business and industry (Con- doned his laboratory research career (Baxley, nellan, 1978; Daniels & Rosen, 1983; Res- 1982; Epstein, 1981; Skinner, 1983b). cigno, 1984), classroom management tech- Fred’s manner was casual and far from in- niques (Axelrod, 1983; Fagen & Hill, 1977; timidating. He often leaned back in his chair Jones, 1990; Kaplan, 1991; McIntyre, 1989; as he spoke, and his eyes sparkled with the O’Leary & O’Leary, 1977; Peterson & Te- energy of a man in his 20s, even though he nenbaum, 1986; Sabatino, Sabatino, & was past 70. He told jokes and recited lim- Mann, 1983; Skinner, 1969; Wheldall, ericks, and he loved to hear new ones. 1987), and computer-aided and pro- ‘‘There once was a family named Stein,’’ he grammed instruction (Atkinson & Wilson, told me one day, ‘‘There was Gert, Ep, and 1969; Bullock, 1978; Holland & Skinner, Ein. Gert’s poems were bunk, Ep’s statues 1961; Lumsdaine & Glaser, 1965; Mager, were junk, and no one could understand 1984; Ruskin, 1974; Skinner, 1968; Skinner Ein!’’ Fred grinned ear to ear, and so did I, & Krakower, 1968). even though I wasn’t sure at the time who The controversies, the accomplishments, two of those Steins were. (Some of Fred’s the honors, the weighty credentials—all jokes were, understandably, a little out of made B. F. Skinner a formidable character date.) indeed. It was with more than a small degree Gradually, I found myself relating to Fred of fear that I wrote to Skinner at his Harvard Skinner as a person and even as a friend. The address in 1976 and asked to meet with him. awe was gone, but not for long. You see, as Because I was a graduate student working I got to know Fred better, I began to admire with one of his former students, he invited him in a new way, one that never subsided, me to visit him at his home in Cambridge. one that is still important for all of us: Fred Anxiously, I circled his neighborhood for 2 was, quite simply, a brilliant ‘‘self-manager.’’ hours before the time of the scheduled visit, and, to my amazement, when the appointed The Evolution of Skinner’s Views on moment finally arrived and Skinner swung Self-Control and Self-Management open his front door, I did not throw up. In Self-management—the deliberate appli- fact, we got along so well that within a few cation of principles of self-change—was not weeks, I found myself editing the second just an academic topic for Fred. Nor was it SKINNER AS SELF-MANAGER 547 something he practiced occasionally. It was were in place, the sign was up out of a lifestyle, especially in his later years. I can’t the way, but when I took them off the overemphasize the importance of this dis- hook at night, the sign dropped to the tinction. Below I will summarize his pub- middle of the door where I would lished work on self-control and self-manage- bump into it on my way out. (Skinner, ment and will subsequently offer examples 1976, pp. 121–122) of how he used self-management techniques. Presumably, prompted by the sign, he hung But a few examples and a brief analysis can’t up his pajamas thereafter. One behavior begin to capture how pervasive self-manage- (constructing the device) had changed the ment was in his life. It was much more than probability of another (hanging up pajamas), a few gizmos and timers. It was what many and the first occurred in order to affect the would call an attitude. He managed his own second. behavior almost continuously. When I was One behavior often changes the probabil- in graduate school, a fellow student men- ity of another accidentally, but this is not tioned that Fred seemed to dispose of en- self-management. This phenomenon, called velopes and junk mail in an especially effi- automatic chaining or simply autochaining, is cient way. I had never noticed this before, commonplace, and it also plays an impor- but it was true. When he opened his mail tant role in creativity and problem solving in the morning, he usually positioned his (Epstein, 1990, 1991, 1996). You may turn chair and trash can so that the very slightest your head for no apparent reason, see a mag- flick of his wrist did the job. This was no azine, and begin reading. Turning one’s head accident, and it was part of the reason he changes the visual field, as does walking into was able to reply to virtually every letter he another room or opening the refrigerator, ever received, even until the end (Vargas, and behavior changes as a result. It is the 1990). deliberateness that distinguishes self-man- We manage our own behavior when we agement from autochaining.1 deliberately alter the variables of which that behavior is a function; that is, when we act 1 I have used the language of intentionality in this in some way in order to change our subse- paper to communicate more readily with my readers, quent behavior. Some people do this fre- but a rigorous statement of Skinner’s formulation of self-control does not require such language. If one be- quently and well, others do it rarely and havior (say, setting an alarm clock) occurs because it poorly. Skinner appears to have had good changes the likelihood of another (say, getting out of self-management skills even as a boy. In his bed), the first behavior is ‘‘controlling’’ and the second behavior is ‘‘controlled.’’ As is true of all operants, any autobiography he recounts the invention of number of phenomena might have produced the first a Rube Goldberg-like device to remind him behavior originally: instructions, modeling, shaping, to hang up his pajamas in the morning. He or generative processes (Epstein, 1990, 1996), for ex- ample. Its occurrence might have been verbally me- had been failing to do so, and his mother diated by a self-generated rule (‘‘I’ll bet I’d get up ear- was complaining. lier if I set an alarm clock’’), and that rule, in turn, might have had any number of origins. Odysseus had The clothes closet in my room was near his men tie him to his mast (controlling behavior) to the door, and in it I fastened a hook lower the probability that he would steer toward the Sirens’ song (controlled behavior). This is an elegant on the end of a string which passed instance of self-control, but it was entirely instruction over a nail and along the wall to a nail driven: Circe had told him to do it. The origins of above the center of the door. A sign self-controlling behavior are sometimes trivial and ob- vious and sometimes profound—sometimes driven by reading ‘‘Hang up your pajamas’’ hung instructions or models and sometimes the result of at the other end. When the pajamas ‘‘problem solving’’ (cf. Epstein, 1996). 548 ROBERT EPSTEIN

It was an accidental sequence, not self- make them more independent, but, says, management, that apparently led Skinner to Frazier, ‘‘don’t be misled, the control always quit smoking. He had been an avid pipe rests in the last analysis in the hands of so- smoker since graduating from college in ciety’’ (p. 105).2 1926. In 1941, he quit, in part, he recalled, Frazier explains that he and an assistant, because of an article he had read in Science Simmons,3 faced the challenge of translating in 1938 suggesting that smoking led to early various practices of self-control, some de- death and in part because of headaches he rived from organized religion, into specific was experiencing from a new blend of to- training techniques. At the age of 3 or 4, bacco. Wrote Skinner, ‘‘I had unintention- children are taught to tolerate delayed grat- ally arranged a kind of aversive therapy’’ ification using lollipops in a special way: (Skinner, 1979, p. 253). A third factor, also accidental, seems especially noteworthy giv- ‘‘We give each child a lollipop which en his later theoretical views: has been dipped in powdered sugar so that a single touch of the tongue can I often listened to broadcasts of evan- be detected. We tell him he may eat the gelical preaching, which I found fasci- lollipop later in the day, provided it nating simply as verbal behavior. I liked hasn’t already been licked.’’ (p. 107) to listen to a preacher named Luke Rader, who specialized in distinguish- The children are taught that one way they ing between controlled and controlling can accomplish this is to put the lollipop out selves. One day he was denouncing the of sight. ‘‘In a later experiment the children demon rum. Someone had complained wear their lollipops like crucifixes for a few that he could not control his drinking, hours’’ (p. 108). and Rader said something like this: Castle, predictably, calls such practices ‘‘a ‘‘What do you mean you can’t control display of sadistic tyranny’’ (p. 108), but an- it? Isn’t it your arm that raises the glass other visitor says he wishes he had been to your lips? Do you mean to tell me taught such skills when young. Says Frazier, that you can’t control your arm?’’ I notably, found the theme helpful in self-man- ‘‘Some of us learn control, more or less agement. (Skinner, 1979, p. 253) by accident. The rest of us go all our Fred’s first published statements on self- lives not even understanding how it is control and self-management appear in his possible, and blaming our failure on 1948 novel, Walden Two, portions of which being born the wrong way.’’ (p. 108) were inspired by monthly discussions he had The community provides early ‘‘ethical been having with philosophers and literary training’’ in this way, says Frazier, critics at the University of Minnesota (Skin- ner, 1979). Chapter 14 of the novel is en- 2 The page numbers have only limited value here, tirely about self-control. Professor Castle, a I’m afraid, because there are at least five different num- hostile visitor to Walden Two, questions Fra- bering schemes for various editions of Walden Two. The numbers I give here are from the 1962 paperback zier, the radical founder of this behaviorally edition, the one that sold most widely. engineered utopian community, about child- 3 Simmons is the middle name of Fred S. Keller, rearing practices in the community. The Skinner’s longtime friend and colleague, and, many community deliberately teaches ‘‘self-con- years later, the developer of the personalized system of instruction or ‘‘Keller Plan,’’ a teaching system for trol’’ (the word is in quotation marks in Fra- children of many ages (Keller, 1968, 1977; Keller & zier’s speeches) to its children in order to Sherman, 1974). Another example of life imitating art. SKINNER AS SELF-MANAGER 549

‘‘A group of children arrive home after as the productive use of leisure time, which a long walk tired and hungry. They’re Skinner, years later, characterized as self- expecting supper; they find, instead, management skills, but they are not de- that it’s time for a lesson in self-control: scribed as such in the novel. Toward the end, they must stand for five minutes in by which time the reader has learned that front of steaming bowls of soup. every adult in the community (except Frazier ‘‘The assignment is accepted like a himself!) is fulfilled and happy, Frazier ex- problem in arithmetic. Any groaning or claims, ‘‘The happiness and equanimity of complaining is a wrong answer. In- our people are obviously related to the self- stead, the children begin at once to control they have acquired’’ (p. 177, italics work upon themselves to avoid any un- in original). happiness during the delay. One of I dwell at length on this early and some- them may make a joke of it. . . . [At a what crude formulation to demonstrate the more advanced stage] the children almost fanatical importance Frazier, very count off—heads and tails. Then a coin much Skinner’s surrogate, attaches to self- is tossed and if it comes up heads, the control skills and training. If Skinner ever ‘heads’ sit down and eat. The ‘tails’ re- had doubts about Frazier’s extreme views, main standing for another five min- they grew less as he got older (Skinner, utes.’’ (pp. 109–110) 1983b). In some sense all of Walden Two is a treatise on self-control, both for the indi- Castle becomes increasingly upset with vidual and for society; each becomes profi- Frazier’s account and demands to know what cient in controlling itself for its ultimate the children gain through such abuse. Frazier good. As Segal (1987) puts it in an insightful rhapsodizes, essay about the novel, ‘‘Skinner envisioned a ‘‘What they get is escape from the petty world where psychology is the preeminent emotions which eat the heart out of the science, and its chief task is to teach self- unprepared. They get the satisfaction of knowledge and self-control’’ (p. 150). In- pleasant and profitable social relations deed, one finds statements about self-control on a scale almost undreamed of in the in Skinner’s later writings that are as extreme world at large. They get immeasurably as Frazier’s. For example, in notes he made increased efficiency, because they can for a debate with Carl Rogers in 1962, he stick to a job without suffering the called self-control ‘‘man’s only hope’’ (Skin- aches and pains which soon beset most ner, 1983b, p. 223), and in casting about of us. They get new horizons, for they for themes for a second novel (which he nev- are spared the emotions characteristic er completed), he considered self-control: of frustration and failure. They get—’’ Why not self-control—a new Pilgrim’s His eyes searched the branches of the Progress—the hero gradually discover- trees. ‘‘Is that enough?’’ (p. 112) ing how to control himself by control- ling the world in which he lives, The real world, Frazier argues, provides only adapting techniques for controlling haphazard training in self-control, but Wal- others to control oneself? That was den Two strives to make ‘‘every man a brave close to the theme I had found most man’’ (p. 114). ‘‘What is the virtue of acci- moving in literature. (Skinner, 1983b, dent?’’ he asks (p. 115, italics in original). p. 246) The community is also organized to en- courage a variety of practices in adults, such Skinner’s developing views on self-control 550 ROBERT EPSTEIN and related topics were incorporated into appears to be simply a ‘‘repertoire’’—a Natural Sciences 114, the course he designed vocabulary of action, each item of around his own scientific and theoretical which becomes more or less probable work upon becoming a professor at Harvard as the environment changes. It is true in 1948. His views were expressed in detail that variables may be arranged in com- in 1953 in Science and Human Behavior, the plex patterns; but this fact does not ap- textbook that was based on the content of preciably modify the picture, for the this course. The entire third section of the emphasis is still upon behavior, not book, more than 60 pages long, is concerned upon the behaver. Yet to a considerable with the functioning of the individual, and extent an individual does appear to shape virtually all of this material is relevant to an his own destiny. He is often able to do understanding of self-control. The first of something about the variables affecting the four chapters in this section is entitled him. Some degree of ‘‘self-determina- ‘‘Self-Control,’’ with that term, once again, tion’’ of conduct is usually recognized in quotation marks. in the creative behavior of the artist and The unsavory theme of Science and Hu- scientist, in the self-exploratory behav- man Behavior is that all human behavior is ior of the writer, and in the self-disci- controlled, an assertion that sent so many of pline of the ascetic. Humbler versions Skinner’s students to the Harvard health ser- of self-determination [no quotes this vices with complaints of depression that the time] are more familiar. The individual counselors there named a syndrome after his ‘‘chooses’’ between alternative courses course (Skinner, 1983b). Lest the reader of action, ‘‘thinks through’’ a problem think he is straying from the theme, he be- while isolated from the relevant envi- gins the ‘‘self-control’’ chapter with a re- ronment, and guards his health or his minder: ‘‘Implicit in a functional analysis is position in society through the exercise the notion of control. When we discover an of ‘‘self-control.’’ independent variable which can be con- Any comprehensive account of hu- trolled, we discover a means of controlling man behavior must, of course, embrace the behavior which is a function of it’’ (Skin- the facts referred to in statements of ner, 1953, p. 228). The fact that the indi- this sort. But we can achieve this without vidual might be able to do this on his or her abandoning our program. When a man own is, he argues, no threat to his assertion controls himself, chooses a course of ac- that all human behavior is determined by tion, thinks out the solution to a prob- ‘‘external variables.’’ Note the number of lem, or strives toward an increase in words in quotation marks in the passage be- self-knowledge, he is behaving. He con- low: trols himself precisely as he would con- trol the behavior of anyone else— We must consider the possibility that through the manipulation of variables the individual may control his own be- of which behavior is a function. His be- havior. A common objection to a pic- havior in so doing is a proper object of ture of the behaving organism such as analysis, and eventually it must be ac- we have so far presented runs some- counted for with variables lying outside what as follows. In emphasizing the the individual himself. (pp. 228–229, controlling power of external variables, italics added) we have left the organism itself in a pe- culiarly helpless position. Its behavior People engage in self-control, says Skin- SKINNER AS SELF-MANAGER 551 ner, because some behaviors have ‘‘conflict- mouths (the controlling response) to keep ing consequences,’’ or, more precisely, be- from coughing or cursing (the controlled re- cause some responses produce reinforcers sponse). We achieve a similar result when we that are correlated with delayed punishment move out of a situation in which we are like- (Epstein, 1984b; Goldfried & Merbaum, ly to behave badly. (b) We remove discrimi- 1973b). Drinking alcoholic beverages may native stimuli to alter subsequent behavior produce ‘‘unusual confidence’’ now but a when we close doors to eliminate distrac- hangover or ‘‘disastrous’’ consequences later. tions or when we put sweets out of sight to The delayed negative consequences may pro- reduce the likelihood that we will eat them. duce conditioned anxiety that we can escape We arrange a discriminative stimulus when from by engaging in behavior that keeps us we tie a string around a finger to remind from drinking: ‘‘Any behavior which suc- ourselves of an appointment. (c) We use de- ceeds in doing this will be automatically re- privation when we pass up an extra helping inforced’’ (Skinner, 1953, p. 230). at lunch in order to save room for dessert, and we use satiation when we drink large The positive and negative consequences amounts of water before going to a cocktail generate two responses which are relat- party in an attempt to cut down on our ed to each other in a special way: one drinking at the party. (d) We manipulate response, the controlling response, affects emotional states when we remove sensitive variables in such a way as to change the stimuli from our sight or when we delay act- probability of the other, the controlled ing by counting to 10. (e) We arrange for response. The controlling response may manipulate any of the variables of certain behaviors to have aversive conse- which the controlled response is a func- quences when we set an alarm clock or when tion; hence there are a good many dif- we make a resolution. (f) We induce changes ferent forms of self-control. (p. 231) in our behavior and emotional states when we take drugs. (g) We avoid engaging in one So for Skinner, as for Luke Rader the behavior sometimes simply by doing some- preacher, self-control consists of a special re- thing else. For example, we ‘‘change the sub- lationship between two behavioral reper- ject’’ in conversation, and we avoid ‘‘the rav- toires, the ‘‘controlling’’ and ‘‘controlled,’’ ages of hatred’’ by ‘‘loving our enemies.’’ brought about by a special class of reinforc- On the possibility of self-reinforcement, ers, those that are correlated with delayed self-punishment, and self-administered ex- punishment. Such reinforcers are known in tinction, Skinner is uncertain. some quarters as ‘‘temptations.’’ Sweets, drugs, alcoholic beverages, unprotected sex- The place of operant reinforcement in ual intercourse, and so on, are special rein- self-control is not clear. . . . Self-rein- forcers of this sort that give rise, or at least forcement of operant behavior presup- that should give rise, to controlling reper- poses that the individual has it in his toires. power to obtain reinforcement but does In the sections that follow, Skinner gives not do so until a particular response has a remarkably comprehensive list of examples been emitted. That might be the case of controlling repertoires, sorted into cate- if a man denied himself all social con- gories of behavior-change techniques that we tacts until he had finished a particular normally use in attempting to change the job. Something of this sort unquestion- behavior of other people: (a) We use physical ably happens, but is it operant rein- restraint when we clap our hands over our forcement? It is certainly roughly par- 552 ROBERT EPSTEIN

allel to the procedure in conditioning If this is correct, little ultimate control the behavior of another person. But it remains with the individual. A man must be remembered that the individ- may spend a great deal of time design- ual may at any moment drop the work ing his own life—he may choose the in hand and obtain the reinforcement. circumstances in which he is to live We have to account for his not doing with great care, and he may manipulate so. It may be that such indulgent be- his daily environment on an extensive havior has been punished—say, with scale. Such an activity appears to ex- disapproval—except when a piece of emplify a high order of self-determi- work has just been completed. . . . The nation. But it is also behavior, and we ultimate question is whether the con- account for it in terms of other vari- sequence has any strengthening effect ables in the environment and history of upon the behavior which precedes it. Is the individual. It is these variables the individual more likely to do a sim- which provide the ultimate control. ilar piece of work in the future? (1953, (1953, p. 240) pp. 238–239) Surprisingly, Skinner does not answer these A Freudian interpretation of Fred’s need to questions definitively in his text; nor did he begin and end his account of ‘‘self-control’’ (in at any point in his career. A. C. Catania, one quotes) with these stern defenses of determin- of his students, offered such an analysis in ism is tempting indeed. Suffice it to say here 1975, showing that self-reinforcement, and, that Skinner didn’t trust us to appreciate his by implication, self-punishment, could not views on ‘‘self-determination’’ (in quotes) be shown to be instances of self-adminis- without coming to question his views on de- tered operant conditioning under any con- terminism. I think his fears were justified, a ditions. In other words, the way Skinner de- matter to be discussed further below. fined reinforcement and punishment, there In the chapters that follow in this section is no such thing as self-reinforcement and of the book, Skinner extends his analysis to self-punishment. The procedures that are of- thinking, decision making, problem solving, ten so labeled are sometimes effective, but and other higher order phenomena that in- they are best viewed as examples of self- volve behavior and internal states not acces- monitoring or self-discrimination, not self- sible to others. The same basic principles ap- administered reinforcement or punishment ply. For example, we work on ourselves to (cf. Bandura, 1976; Catania, 1975, 1976; ‘‘make a decision’’ by exposing ourselves to Goldiamond, 1976a, 1976b).4 new sources of information. We help our- Skinner ends the chapter with yet another reminder of his theme—in fact, a whole sec- selves remember lost names by using ‘‘self- prompts’’ and ‘‘self-probes’’—for example, tion, called ‘‘The Ultimate Source of Con- 5 trol.’’ Here, emphatically, he repeats his ar- by running through the alphabet. The gument that self-controlling repertoires are ‘‘self,’’ argues Skinner, is an ‘‘organized sys- produced by the environment, with some tem of responses’’ (1953, p. 286), and such repertoires specifically taught by our culture. systems can interact, as we saw in his ac- count of controlling and controlled re- 4 In his commentary on Herrnstein’s (1977) article, ‘‘The Evolution of Behaviorism,’’ Skinner (1977a) at- tacked Herrnstein’s particular use of the term self-re- 5 Similar topics are dealt with in Verbal Behavior, inforcement, but the issues they were debating are not Skinner’s book on language production, published in relevant to the present discussion. 1957. SKINNER AS SELF-MANAGER 553 sponses.6 ‘‘Self-knowledge’’ is behavior that ery aspect of his own actions, large and describes other behavior or the variables of small, and when he failed, he recalculated which other behavior is a function, and thus and tried again. self-knowledge can play a role in the for- Sometimes the results were grand, and mation of controlling repertoires (cf. Segal, sometimes they were silly. Fred used to write 1987). in his study in the early mornings, and at one point I remember him being concerned A Self-Managed Lifestyle about his fidgeting. He would write for a Skinner’s later reflections on self-control few minutes and then fidget in his chair and and self-management (which is simply the get up. What, he wondered, was causing him practice of techniques of self-control) are to stop writing? Could it be the seat of the wholly consistent with the theoretical for- chair? He slit open the sides of the cushion, mulation he presented in 1953 (e.g., see pulled out some foam, and stuffed new foam Skinner, 1968, pp. 191–193, 1974, pp. in, shaping the cushion to conform to his 194–199). But in his later writings we see posterior. Sure enough, the bottom line im- more frequent accounts of his own self-man- proved: He was able to write for far longer agement practices, and, ultimately, extensive periods with the modified (but very shabby!) advice on how to become a self-manager. I cushion. He had changed his environment will summarize some of these writings below, in a very simple fashion in order to change but, before doing so, I will attempt to give his own behavior. the reader a sense of the self-managed life- He knew that reinforcers are important in style Fred led. As I indicated earlier, a list of maintaining behavior—especially long, com- examples doesn’t do justice to the topic, but plicated performances—so he made his at least it is a start. world as reinforcing as possible. We often To my knowledge, and all of the rumors worked in the shop in his basement, near notwithstanding, Fred did not rely on ‘‘be- the top-secret pigeon-guided missile nose havior modification’’ techniques to ‘‘control’’ cone he had invented for the army in the people. Quite the contrary. He was relaxed, 1940s and the stack of old teaching ma- natural, and gentle in most of his dealings chines he had invented in the 1950s. On with other people. His interpersonal style one occasion we needed to create a device was made milder, if anything, by the scien- that would move a spot of light along a tific principles he helped to develop, because screen for what began as an experiment on his research convinced him that punishment autoshaping (see Epstein & Skinner, 1980), was a poor tool for changing behavior, so he and Fred’s idea was to place a small lightbulb avoided using it in his everyday life. in the middle of a loop that had a hole Fred avoided manipulating others, but he punched in it. From the side, it would ap- most certainly manipulated his own behav- pear that a small dot of light was moving by. ior, and he did so with great success. He For the loop, Fred cut a strip from an old brought all of his ingenuity and all of his adding machine cover, and for spindles, Fred scientific principles to bear each day on ev- found some empty spools of thread. I in- 6 Skinner (1989) modified his definition of self: ‘‘In stalled a motor and began to wire in the a long chapter called ‘Self-Control’ in Science and Hu- bulb when Fred suggested that we plug the man Behavior, I used self very much as I would now device in the wall. ‘‘Why?’’ I asked, ‘‘It’s not use person. . . . [A] person, as a repertoire of behavior, finished yet.’’ ‘‘Well, to see it go, of course,’’ can be observed by others; the self, as a set of accom- panying internal states, is observed only through feel- Fred replied, his eyes illuminated. In other ing or introspection’’ (p. 28). words, let’s produce a reinforcer. 554 ROBERT EPSTEIN

Fred kept lists of things to do, because ka. I started through the alphabet. people who keep lists of things to do do With great force, letters would suggest more things. He made schedules for himself Russian composers. My research cen- to keep himself on track. We all use daily tered on p ... r ... Respighi invaded and weekly schedules, but Fred made long- Russia momentarily, and Raskolnikoff term schedules as well—even 10- and became a composer. I kept thinking of 20-year schedules (Skinner, 1979, 1983b). an old book of Russian piano pieces, He knew that the right stimulus worked trying to visualize the pages of a polka as a prompt to strengthen weak behavior, so by the man whose name I was looking he developed ways to work on himself to for. (p. 50) remember names and numbers that he couldn’t bring to mind. He would run One may use a partially recalled verbal through the alphabet or try different rhyth- response to prompt a complete re- mic patterns (‘‘formal prompts’’) or he’d re- sponse in the listener. To the chauffeur view and repeat related material (‘‘thematic from the Merck Company who was prompts’’). He insisted that, given enough driving me from Philadelphia to West time, he could recall any fact about his past. Point, I said I preferred going through Self-prompting works because we are better a section called something like Mish- at recognizing than recalling. In his note- ocken. ‘‘Conshohocken,’’ he said at books, Fred recorded dozens of instances. once. I could have done the same thing Consider the following: by working on myself to get an even- tually complete response. Since I rec- Recalling an episode that occurred in ognized his response as correct, I could 1946, I could not get the name of the have recognized my own recollection as tenor who did not appear because his soon as the prompt worked. (p. 284) plane was grounded in Chicago and he was driven by mistake to Bloomington, Fred knew that unpleasant tasks become Illinois, rather than Bloomington, In- more pleasant if we arrange our environment diana, and I went through the alpha- appropriately. At one point he used to get bet. At L, M, I almost got the name; himself to ride his exercise bike in the morn- it was clearly very close. I continued ing by positioning reading materials over the and went through again. Again, a handlebar, and when we worked together he strong but unformed response at L, M. had a small television set there. He’d pedal A third time, after some miscellaneous while watching the morning news. recall of related material, I got it— He knew that the best ideas are often Lauritz Melchior. Both L and M, and fleeting, so he developed special ways to cap- in that order! (Epstein, 1980, p. 208) ture them. He kept a notebook or a tape recorder by his bed and by his pool, for ex- I heard an announcement on the radio ample. He knew that writing was a delicate that a radical piece of music by Pro- and easily disrupted activity, so he took kofiev was to be played. The announcer pains to shelter it from disruptions. He built mentioned Stravinsky, Diaghilev, and special shelves so that his dictionaries and possibly one or two other people. The other reference books were always at arm’s music was very strange. A few minutes reach (Figure 1). He used his writing desk later, as it was being played, I tried to for serious writing only; he answered letters recall Prokofiev. I kept getting Petrouch- and paid bills elsewhere. He made memo- SKINNER AS SELF-MANAGER 555 randa with whatever was at hand: If he be experienced by those who practice planned to bring a book home from the of- scientific self-knowledge and self- fice, he would toss it where he would be sure management. (Skinner, 1974, p. 271) to see it on his way out. I knew Fred in his 70s and 80s, by He made himself more productive by us- which time his ship had long since come ing clocks and timers, and he used file fold- in. It is clear that he was not as relaxed and ers and special indexing systems to help to fulfilled in earlier stages of his life, but, as organize his thoughts, especially as he be- I have shown, he had had a passionate in- came more concerned about the debilitating terest in self-improvement through self- effects of aging. He never let deteriorating management since the 1940s or possibly eyesight or hearing have its way with him. even earlier. In the 1950s and 1960s, he He compensated, often with gadgets of his was stressed and overworked, mainly be- own making. At one point he wore large cause of the success of many of his proj- plastic ear flaps, resembling Mickey Mouse ects. A former graduate student of his in ears, to amplify his hearing; they worked the early 1960s once told me that he only well, he said, but he stopped wearing them saw Skinner ‘‘in between plane flights,’’ because they startled visitors. Although he and others have complained about his fail- suffered from glaucoma, with large magni- ure to read theses and provide guidance fying glasses and good light he continued to during a period of years when he was im- read voraciously. When his wife expressed mensely busy. There are many indications concern about the presence of a magnifying in his notebooks and autobiographical glass he had installed in their living room, writings that he was striving during this he built a swing-away arm that kept it hid- difficult period to improve his situation den under a coffee table. through the deliberate manipulation of He knew that leisure time promoted conditions. In one note, written around both creativity and good health, so he 1961, he exclaims ‘‘I need to relax!’’ (Skin- scheduled leisure hours every day. He ner, 1983b, p. 214) and not long after be- watched football games and read mystery gins the first of many notes on his attempts novels without guilt. He was Type SM—a at ‘‘intellectual self-management,’’ his at- self-manager—not Type A. tempt to improve the quality and original- I am trying at this point simply to con- ity of his thinking and writing: vey the flow, the style, of Fred’s life. It was immensely positive, optimistic, fulfilling— I begin to see myself more clearly in often joyous—with self-management skills relation to the daily environment in playing a central role. In his 1974 defense which I live from hour to hour. . . . of behaviorism, he stated the possibility Am I now leading a more ‘‘rational’’ this way: life? In the traditional sense, no. My behavior is still controlled by the same Not only has the most ardent behav- variables—mostly reinforcing conse- iorist feelings like everyone else; on quences—acting through the same balance he has quite possibly more processes. I am arranging these vari- enjoyable ones, because there are ables rather than allowing them to turn states of the body—associated, for ex- up at random or from irrelevant sources, ample, with failure, frustration, or but that is not ‘‘reason.’’ . . . How am loss—which are far from enjoyable or I to find the conditions under which reinforcing, and they are less likely to I will make the contributions which 556 ROBERT EPSTEIN SKINNER AS SELF-MANAGER 557

are most likely to be uniquely mine? 3) Minimal social stimulation. . . . (Skinner, 1983b, pp. 214–215, italics 4) Unguilty relaxation. Light reading. added) TV. Music seems too disturbing. (Skinner, 1983a, p. 244) As a way of launching himself in new directions, Skinner decided to disengage In four publications during his last de- himself from research completely as of the cade, Fred translated his own self-manage- summer of 1962 (his involvement had ment practices into specific recommenda- been minimal anyway since 1957), and he tions for others. Three (Skinner, 1981, also decided to take early retirement at age 1983a, 1987b) are concerned with intel- 60 (in 1964). He wasn’t simply escaping lectual self-management per se, and the by such actions; he was ‘‘arranging vari- fourth (Skinner & Vaughan, 1983) covers ables.’’ He took stock of his situation fre- somewhat more general issues of self-man- quently, often in writing, and planned agement in old age. In ‘‘How to Discover changes accordingly. For example, in a What You Have to Say,’’ Skinner offers ad- note in 1963 he pledged the following: vice to students: (a) Keep yourself in good 1) Further reduction of office and de- condition. You will think and write more partmental work. No lecturing. clearly if your body is in good shape. (b) Minimal correspondence. Write in the same place each day and do 2) Organizing, filing, clarifying ma- nothing else there. (c) Write at the same terials, getting a better over-all view time each day. (d) Surround yourself with of what is to be done, being able to the best writing materials you can get. (e) relate a current interest or idea to a Write every day. (f) Start small, and build project. up. (g) Schedule leisure time and use it

← Figure 1. Skinner’s basement study at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, about a year after his death. He both slept and worked here, and his family has kept it the way he left it. (a) He designed his desk top and the area around it to keep himself productive without effort. He built the cubbies himself, even the crude slide- out drawers (center top). Frequently handled books were all within easy reach (dictionaries, writer’s manuals, copies of his own books, etc.), and they all had special places so he never had to search for them. At left is a card file containing behavioristic ‘‘translations’’ of hundreds of common terms, which he hoped would be the basis of a behavioral dictionary. He had trouble reading his handwriting because both his vision and handwriting were poor in later years; the bulky dictation machine (lower right) kept him going. The makeshift wooden box (extreme lower right) contained pill containers organized into sections, to help him take the right pill at the right time. (b) A small piece of cardboard covered the face of the clock near his desk. When writing, he would flip the cardboard down to keep from being distracted. (c) Wires and strings run everywhere in the study. Several here are attached to a large illuminated magnifying glass. They run to pulleys in the ceiling and from there to a nearby wall, where they terminate in counterweights that Fred cast of concrete. The arrangement allowed him to position the magnifying glass easily over his reading. In the background are, among other things, photographs of Pavlov, Fred S. Keller, the ping-pong playing pigeons, and one of his grandchildren. (d) Fred would read, watch television, or listen to classical music from a leather armchair. On the arm he glued a makeshift wooden tray to hold the remote control device for the television; the tray kept him from losing the remote. On the coffee table lay a string (not visible) that was connected to a mechanical finger about six feet away. By pulling the string, Fred could press the pause button on his tape recorder. ‘‘With a glue gun,’’ Fred would say, ‘‘you can make anything,’’ and so he did. (e) Fred slept in a module sent him as a token of esteem by a company in Japan. The company had briefly advertised the module in the United States, and Fred, prompted by an ad, suggested that the company create a version of the module for babies—a high-tech ‘‘air crib’’; the company declined. (f) An enlargement of the note from above his desk, detailing his medication schedule from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 558 ROBERT EPSTEIN productively.7 (h) Capture new ideas as vorings in food.9 (b) Supplement failing they occur. Carry a notebook, and put one abilities and a lack of stimulation with new by your bed. (i) Surround yourself with ap- types of stimulation, such as spectator propriate stimulation: the right audience, sports and pornography. (c) Learn new reading materials that stimulate your skills to improve recall: Make notes, act on thinking, new situations. (j) Make outlines something when you think of it, review to organize your thoughts before you cast written materials, prompt yourself, and so them into prose. Very large sheets of blank on. When all else fails and you are in an paper (without lines) are helpful for this embarrassing situation, improvise. For ex- purpose, so you can show relationships ample, if you need to introduce your among ideas graphically.8 (k) Write first, spouse to someone whose name you have without concern for style. Edit later. forgotten, try this: In 1982 Fred gave a paper at a meeting My wife and I use the following strat- of the American Psychological Association egy: If there is any conceivable chance called ‘‘Intellectual Self-Management in that she could have met the person, I Old Age,’’ which was published the follow- simply say to her, ‘‘Of course, you re- ing year. Reaction to the talk was so posi- member . . . ?’’ and she grasps the out- tive that, with assistance from M. E. stretched hand and says, ‘‘Yes, of course. How are you?’’ The acquain- Vaughan, Fred expanded the paper into a tance may not remember meeting my short book called Enjoy Old Age. The paper wife, but is not sure of his or her mem- and book make many practical recommen- ory, either. (Skinner, 1983a, p. 240) dations that follow directly from Fred’s own self-management practices, among (d) Leisure time should be truly relaxing. Give up demanding activities and competi- them: (a) Supplement your failing senses 10 with appropriate devices: glasses, bright tions. (e) Get your rest! (f) Make it easy lights, magnifying glasses, hearing aids, 9 Fred wore a hearing aid for the last 20 years of book recordings, headphones, strong fla- his life, but he still had trouble hearing in lecture halls in which the ambient noise level was high. He often could detect only sporadic words or phrases from the 7 The Greeks, said Skinner, call this eutrapelia. In questions he was getting, but he chose to make do addition to reading novels and watching sports on rather than to ask the questioner to repeat the ques- television, Fred often did nontaxing, work-related tion. Even so, he almost always answered the question work: punching holes in paper, cutting and pasting, correctly. He told me that he was able to do this be- reading a classic that might bear on his work. I faulted cause he generally received the same questions again him one day for spending so much time in leisure and again; his answers, he said, were virtually ‘‘pack- activities, and he replied that I had a ‘‘cruel superego.’’ aged.’’ Only rarely would he answer a question that 8 Fred gave me many things over the years that I had not been asked. The answer, usually elegant, treasure, among them a two-volume first edition of would produce many quizzical expressions in the au- William James’s Principles of Psychology, signed by dience, but no one ever seemed to suspect the extent Fred, and a cumulative record Fred generated in 1932. of his hearing impairment or the method he was using My oddest treasure is a roll of large, somewhat yel- to answer questions. lowed sheets of paper. Fred told me that they were left 10 Skinner (1983b) refers to a memorandum de- over from a stack he had used to organize his thinking, scribing a standing order in Hitler’s army. When of- design experiments, and so on, and he encouraged me ficers were observed to suffer any of 18 different signs to use them for the same purpose. Somehow, I just of mental fatigue, they were obligated to take an im- couldn’t bring myself to deface them, knowing what mediate vacation. (Skinner adds, ‘‘Fortunately for the they had been intended for. Will they end up in a world, [Hitler] did not apply the order to himself,’’ p. museum someday? The label on the exhibit will read, 241.) He suggested that we review the actual memo ‘‘Sheets of paper once owned by eminent psychologist one day, and we found that I was suffering from 17 B. F. Skinner. He intended to write on them, but we of the 18 signs of fatigue. Notably, Fred wasn’t suffer- don’t know what.’’ ing from a single one. SKINNER AS SELF-MANAGER 559 to behave. Have appropriate materials with- other people because of their theories? in easy reach. (g) Use files or other aids to (p. 75) help organize your thinking. Skinner (1987a) described two ‘‘three-dimensional Fred’s most important self-management outlines’’ he had recently invented to help practice is implied in his writings but is no- him in this way and claimed they ‘‘they where clearly stated. He always spent a few worked so well that I wish I had had them minutes each day, often scattered through- when I was younger’’ (p. 379). out the day, searching for and analyzing vari- Fred’s use of self-management techniques ables of which his behavior seemed to be a function. It is not enough to live your life, was easy and natural for him. In no way did he told me; you also need to analyze it and it smack of the ‘‘tyranny’’ of the self-control make changes in it frequently and regularly. training of Walden Two. It was like a game that he played, a puzzle to be solved, and he Resolving the Tension Between enjoyed the process as much as the results. Self-Control and Determinism He also took pride in self-management, be- Skinner (1953) framed his seminal chap- cause it seemed to show a powerful, practical ter on self-control with a defense of deter- side to his science that was lacking in other minism, and he framed the term itself in branches of psychology or psychiatry. Con- quotation marks. In what sense is determin- sider the following entries from his note- ism compatible with his conception of self- books, each written in the 1960s: control? If Skinner truly believed in deter- minism, did he truly believe in self-control? Freud was unable to stop smoking ci- Is self-control a trivial epiphenomenon for gars, up to 25 a day, though smoking Skinner, or does it overlap with the idea of must have been obviously related to the self-determination? heavy ‘‘catarrh’’ he suffered from most Extreme philosophical determinism en- of his life, as well as to the protracted compasses all events, by definition, so it cer- cancer of the jaw in his last years . . . tainly encompasses the ‘‘controlling’’ self. In an astonishing lack of self-understand- that sense, Skinner is technically correct: ing or self-control. Was he not both- The behaviors we label ‘‘self-managing’’ are ered by it, or did much of his theory fully ‘‘determined.’’ But remember that spring from the need to acknowledge philosophical positions are, in effect, just that the habit was ‘‘bigger than he fantasies. They are interpretations of data. was’’? (Epstein, 1980, p. 341) Like pure logic or pure mathematics, they are not always good predictors of events in I have, I think, made good use of my the world, and they have no trouble coex- analysis of behavior in managing my isting with very different interpretations of own life, particularly my own verbal the same data (cf. Quine, 1969). The real behavior. Can the psychoanalysts and question is whether the behavioral phenom- the cognitive and humanistic psychol- ena Skinner described in his characterization ogists say as much? Did Freud ever re- of self-control are trivial. If so, self-control port the use of his theory to influence disappears as a topic worthy of further con- his own thinking? Are cognitive psy- sideration. If not, we must ask what self- chologists particularly knowledgeable control practices accomplish for the individ- about knowledge? Are humanistic psy- ual. chologists more effective in helping The best way to settle the issue, I believe, 560 ROBERT EPSTEIN is to examine two extreme cases. First, con- of the many ‘‘by-products’’ or ‘‘collateral sider the individual who has no self-control products’’ that Skinner talked about and dis- skills. In Skinner’s view, such a person falls missed. ‘‘Mind’’ was an epiphenomenon to prey to all immediate stimuli, even those Fred, a useless and even dangerous concept that are linked to delayed punishment. See- (consider Blanshard & Skinner, 1967; Skin- ing a chocolate cake, she eats it. Handed a ner, 1963, 1974, 1977b, 1990). Feelings cigarette, she smokes. Given an opportunity were real for him, as the passage I quoted to steal, she steals. She may make plans, but above states clearly, but they played no caus- she has no ability to carry them out, because al role in behavior, so they were at best ‘‘col- she is entirely at the mercy of proximal lateral products’’ of environmental events events. She is a sailboat blowing uncontrol- and therefore unimportant in an analysis of lably in a gale, like the characters in Frank behavior (Skinner, 1945, 1974, 1987a). And Norris’s classic, McTeague. free will was, to Fred, simply an illusion At the other extreme we have a skillful (Rogers & Skinner, 1956; Skinner, 1955– self-manager, like Fred Skinner. He, too, sets 1956, 1971). Self-management—the prac- goals, but he has ample ability to meet them. tice of self-control—fits none of the trivia He has the skills to cast dangerous reinforc- categories. It encompasses a set of powerful ers aside. He identifies conditions that affect skills and procedures that produce substan- his behavior and alters them to suit him. He tive change. takes temporally remote possibilities into ac- Our two cases differ in yet another re- count in setting his priorities. External fac- spect, and here the ironies begin to perco- tors still affect him, but he is looking late. The woman who lacks self-control skills through a very large window. The wind is feels controlled. She may believe in free will blowing, but he sets the boat’s destination (in fact, in our culture, it’s a safe bet that and directs it there. she does) but her own life is out of control. These two individuals are profoundly dif- A belief in free will only exacerbates her frus- ferent. The first is being controlled in almost tration. She should be able to will herself out a linear fashion by her immediate environ- of any jam, but ‘‘willpower’’ proves to be ment. The second is, in a nontrivial sense, highly unreliable.11 In contrast, the self- controlling his own life. They are different manager feels that he is in control. Ironically, in their ability to function, to negotiate like Skinner, he may believe in determinism, through life. In our culture, the first might but he not only feels that he is in control, conceivably smoke, drink, commit crimes, he is in fact exercising considerably more take drugs, squander money, and so on. The control over his life than our impulsive sub- second, well practiced in foregoing imme- ject. diate pleasure when long-term gain is at Critics have often argued that Skinner’s stake, and well equipped with the relevant views on free will are depressing and debil- self-management skills, would presumably itating. As Carpenter (1974) put it, ‘‘if a per- have a ‘‘meaningful’’ life, the meaning being the realization of long-term goals. 11 Willpower corresponds to the behavior of ‘‘doing something else,’’ one variation of which is to ‘‘hold In a very real sense, Skinner’s concept of very still.’’ I remember being so nervous once that to self-control is the equivalent of self-deter- keep myself from shaking I ‘‘shook myself in the other mination, because the practice of self-control direction’’ (or so I told people), the result being no has a profound impact on one’s life (cf. shaking at all. So willpower as such is just the tip of the self-management iceberg; it is just one of many Theophanous, 1975). Note that self-control, types of self-management, and other types are poten- in spite of the quotation marks, was not one tially more helpful for most people. SKINNER AS SELF-MANAGER 561 son’s belief in autonomy could be extin- philosopher, the tensions and ironies disap- guished, it is likely that he would become so pear completely. passive that he would exhibit symptoms of One solution, then, to the determinism psychosis’’ (p. 117). But Fred himself was a problem is to scrap determinism; the self- strict and ardent determinist. He believed control literature stands well on its own. sincerely that he was not an autonomous en- While we’re at it, perhaps we should aban- tity but merely a ‘‘locus’’ through which en- don a few other isms, as well, including be- vironmental and genetic forces acted (Skin- haviorism itself, as Fred Keller himself sug- ner, 1983b). Yet he lacked passivity to such gested from time to time (e.g., Keller, 1984). a degree as to be able to rouse Carpenter and Isms are common in the early stages of sci- many other critics to fits of passion (consider ence (consider Hopkins, 1934), but they are Agnew, 1972; Chomsky, 1971; cf. Epstein, troublesome later on, as we have seen in 1987b). Many of the critics overlooked one Skinner’s presentation of self-control. It will of Fred’s most important theses, namely that take the concerted and coordinated efforts the causes of behavior can be located and of specialists in many disciplines to shed sig- manipulated, even by the individual himself nificant light on human behavior, by far the or herself. Determinism is not necessarily most complex subject matter science has equivalent to fatalism, and Skinner’s partic- ever tackled. It is time we went about this ular version of determinism is the very an- important business as colleagues, not ideol- tithesis of fatalism. ogists. As Skinner himself showed both by anal- Self-Control After Skinner ysis and practice, self-control is both real and Skinner’s early analysis of self-control powerful. It would seem to be determinism helped to inspire educators and clinicians to that is the less substantive concept. Skinner’s develop and test many applications of self- quotation marks around the self-control control techniques with a variety of popu- chapter (and around the term itself) add lations and a variety of problems. Some basic nothing to his analysis. He could have of- research on self-control, mainly with ani- fered the same analysis and have rejected de- mals, is also an outgrowth of Skinner’s work. terminism, just as our impulsive subject Because Fred wrote little about self-control could have embraced it. between 1953 and 1981, and because he As I have argued extensively elsewhere never conducted research on the topic, it is (e.g., Epstein, 1984a, 1985a, 1987a, understandable that research and application 1987b), behaviorism began as a movement have diverged from his formulation (see Ka- to reform psychology, and when it began to roly, 1982, and Kazdin, 1978, for reviews of fail in its early years, it rapidly evolved into the different approaches). There are some ex- a school of philosophy. It became the the- ceptions. For example, in yet another case of odicy of its devotees, a rationale for why its life imitating art, Newman and Bloom adherents should be allowed to appropriate (1981) reported success reducing cigarette psychology departments (Epstein, 1985b). If smoking in undergraduates employing the a science of behavior had been allowed to delay-of-gratification procedure Skinner de- grow and flourish—perhaps as an indepen- scribed in Walden Two (also see Hartig & dent field, the way Kuo (1937) and others Kanfer, 1973; Mischel, 1974). And Epstein proposed—behaviorism as such would have (1984b) presented a simple model of self- disappeared. When we separate the science control that is consistent with Skinner’s from the philosophy, the scientist from the (1953) formulation, along with supporting 562 ROBERT EPSTEIN data: Pigeons that are close in time to rein- nition as he understood them (e.g., Skinner, forcers correlated with delayed punishment 1977b, 1990). (i.e., to ‘‘temptations’’) behave as if the pun- Finally, most animal research on self-con- ishment doesn’t exist. When remote in time trol has been conducted in the framework of from such reinforcers, they behave more a choice model of behavior, according to prudently. which self-control is said to be exhibited Contemporary work has diverged from when an organism chooses a larger, more de- Skinner’s work in primarily three ways: First, layed reinforcer over a smaller, more imme- some researchers and practitioners (e.g., diate reinforcer (Ainslie, 1975; Logue, 1988; Bandura, 1976; Mahoney & Thoresen, Mazur & Logue, 1978; Navarick & Fantino, 1974; Watson & Tharp, 1972) take self-ad- 1976; Rachlin, 1974). But Skinner never ministered reinforcement and punishment saw any value in choice models, so defining procedures seriously, despite vigorous criti- self-control in that context had no meaning cisms (e.g., Brigham, 1982; Catania, 1975, for him. His clearest statement of his posi- 1976; Goldiamond, 1976a, 1976b). The de- tion on research on choice appeared in 1986 bate is usually not about whether the pro- (also see Skinner, 1950): cedures work but why they work, the critics To return to choice and especially to maintaining that technical definitions of re- regard a single response as a choice be- inforcement and punishment don’t allow us tween responding and not responding to test for ‘‘self-reinforcement’’ and ‘‘self- are, I think, steps backward. Choice is punishment’’ in any meaningful way. When something to be explained, not to be procedures so labeled seem to be effective, used in the analysis of basic processes. the critics say other mechanisms are at work. . . . It is true that if a man does not do The debate is unlikely to be resolved, be- one thing, he will do another or do cause reinforcement and punishment are de- nothing, and that if you want him to fined in different ways by different practi- do A and not B, you have only to make tioners. Although it has been argued—con- the ‘‘expected utility’’ of A greater than vincingly, in my opinion—that Skinner’s that of B as by describing favorable own concepts of reinforcement and punish- consequences of reinforcing A more ment make self-reinforcement and self-pun- frequently. But you are changing only ishment meaningless, matters are complicat- relative probabilities. Contingencies of ed by the fact that Skinner himself has oc- reinforcement are much more powerful casionally used self-reinforcement in a func- than the ‘‘expected utilities’’ that follow tional account of behavior (e.g., Skinner, from instruction, and rate of respond- 1957, pp. 438–446). ing is a more direct measure of proba- Second, with the infusion of cognitive bility than a choice between alterna- theories into behavior therapy (see Kazdin, tives. (Skinner, 1986, p. 232) 1978), many now emphasize the importance of cognition in self-control (e.g., Cautela, Skinner’s original notion that self-control 1971; Kanfer, 1970; Kanfer & Karoly, 1972; involves the practice of skills for avoiding Kanfer & Phillips, 1970; Karoly & Kanfer, reinforcers correlated with delayed punish- 1982; Mahoney & Thoresen, 1974; Mei- ment has certainly been incorporated into chenbaum, 1977; Stuart, 1977). Skinner of- several contemporary views (e.g., Epstein, fered accounts of private events during his 1984b; Goldfried & Merbaum, 1973b; career (e.g., Skinner, 1945, 1957, 1963), but Thoresen & Mahoney, 1974), and many of he also objected to modern analyses of cog- the techniques of self-control he outlined SKINNER AS SELF-MANAGER 563 have been taught for millennia by organized 1971, 1973). Abusing our natural resources religions and were even described in the is a prime example. When society teaches us writings of ancient Greek and Roman phi- to use self-control skills to save water, to re- losophers (consider Bolin & Goldberg, cycle our trash, to turn down our thermo- 1979; Schimmel, 1977, 1979). stats, it creates a better world for our de- Such techniques have been essential to scendants. human civilization because they allow indi- By conveying what we know about self- viduals to avoid or escape dangerous, im- control and self-management, behavioral sci- mediate reinforcers with minimal or no help entists and practitioners can play a special from other people. Without self-control role in helping society do its job. In a Sid- skills, we would need constant monitoring, dhartha-style book I completed recently (Ep- as indeed young children do. Our parents stein, 1997), intended for a popular audi- and our clergy have been the main purveyors ence, I have provided a simple framework of such skills, but so many people lack these for teaching basic self-management skills. A skills that it is clear that society is failing to young man whose life is in disarray (he teach them adequately. As a result, a great smokes, drinks, overeats, loses things, pro- many people are blowing aimlessly in the crastinates, and so on) seeks advice from his wind, and society seems to be foundering. parents, teachers, and friends, but no one As Segal (1987) states, can help. Then he remembers his old Uncle Fred (modeled, shamelessly, after Fred Skin- Individuals cannot gain self-control ner), whose life always seemed to be in per- without help....Ifourintellectual and fect harmony. In a series of visits, Uncle Fred creative capacities are to be fully real- reveals to him the three ‘‘secrets’’ of self- ized, if we are to acquire interpersonal management, all Ms: Modify your environ- skills and moral values consonant with ment, monitor your behavior, and make com- the interests of the group and a reper- mitments. Fred also reveals and explains the toire of knowledge and skills for self- ‘‘self-management principle’’: Behavior control and self-expression, it can only changes behavior. After each visit, the young be as the result of learning experiences man (who has no name) tries out a new that the social milieu provides for us. technique, and his life is changed radically . . . The wise society fosters research on for the better. In one scene, he sees a class- behavior so that it can exploit the re- room of remarkably creative and insightful sultant technology for the purpose of children who have been trained in self-man- rearing intelligent, creative, thoughtful, agement techniques in a public school. It is loving, moral, and self-controlling citi- fiction, of course, but the technology is well zens. (p. 151) established and the possibilities are well Teaching self-control practices serves two within reach. important functions for society: It creates citizens who fulfill their potential and thus Dying with His Boots On are in a position to make greater contribu- Fred had at least three close brushes with tions to the group, and it gives society a death before finally succumbing to compli- mechanism for assuring that individuals will cations arising from leukemia in August of respect the long-term interests of the group. 1990. In 1971 he began experiencing angi- Some reinforcers are correlated with punish- nal pain, so severe that he wrapped up his ers so long delayed that only the individual’s affairs, expecting to die in short order. In the progeny will experience them (cf. Skinner, late 1970s, a tumor began to grow on the 564 ROBERT EPSTEIN side of his face; by the time it was removed, the American Psychological Association it was nearly the size of a golf ball. Because awarded him its first Citation for Outstand- it involved the parietal gland, a colleague la- ing Lifetime Contribution to Psychology. beled it ‘‘Pavlov’s revenge’’ (Fred was Fred delivered a 15-minute speech extem- amused). The chief of surgery at Massachu- poraneously to a packed audience in Boston setts General Hospital removed most of the in accepting the award, and, just hours be- tumor, but a portion remained, because the fore his death, he put the finishing touches cancerous tissue enveloped facial nerves. The on a manuscript based on that speech: ‘‘Can tumor was determined to be malignant, so Psychology Be a Science of Mind?’’ (Skinner, Fred was subjected to radiation therapy for 1990). He had always wanted to die ‘‘with several months. The radiation killed most of his boots on,’’ according to his daughter, and the taste buds on his tongue and made it he came very close. ‘‘Near the end,’’ she torturous for him to eat. wrote, ‘‘his mouth was dry. Upon receiving A few years before he died, Fred fell in a bit of water he said his last word, ‘Mar- his kitchen, causing blood vessels to rupture velous’’’ (Vargas, 1990, p. 410). in his brain. Six large holes were drilled in Life, to Fred, was a series of joys to relish his skull to relieve the pressure, and he was and challenges to overcome, and he did both forced to lie perfectly still on his back for extremely well. He never bothered with the weeks in the hospital. And then, finally, in four stages of the terminally ill, perhaps be- the fall of 1989, the leukemia. He was told cause they smacked too much of traditional he had 2 or 3 months to live. psychology. He just lived! Fred faced all of these difficulties with the Fred was the most creative, most produc- same optimism and ingenuity he applied to tive, and happiest person I have ever known. every other aspect of his life. He searched I cannot prove that his exceptional self-man- for relevant variables and altered them to agement skills were the cause, but I have no keep himself going as well as possible, and doubt whatsoever that they were, and both that was usually very well indeed. Faced with Skinner and his alter-ego, Frazier, made sim- heart problems, Fred changed his diet, lost ilar claims. 16 pounds, modified his exercise routine, In retrospect, I learned more from observ- and cut back on commitments. When sub- ing Fred behave than I did from his minis- jected to the radiation therapy, at one point trations or his books.12 Fred as a behaving he improvised a shield of lead foil to protect his tongue and admonished his physician for 12 The literature on self-control and self-manage- not having thought of such a device. He ment grew slowly during the 1960s (e.g., Ferster, Nurnberger, & Levitt, 1962; Goldiamond, 1965) and dealt with his glaucoma, his hearing loss, his reached a crescendo of sorts in the early and mid- failing memory with equal finesse. 1970s, with at least eight books documenting the suc- I visited his bedside the day after his tu- cess of self-management techniques in a variety of set- tings (e.g., Foster, 1974; Goldfried & Merbaum, mor was removed, not more than an hour 1973a; Kanfer & Goldstein, 1975; Mahoney & Tho- after he was informed that it was malignant. resen, 1974; Stuart, 1977; Thoresen & Mahoney, He was lucid but showed no signs of dis- 1974; Watson & Tharp, 1972; Williams & Long, 1975). The flurry came at about the time I was fin- tress, absolutely none. He told me about the ishing college (1974), and I was fascinated. Late in reasonably good food and the great back 1975 I helped to conduct a clinical study on self- rubs at the hospital. He said he had no re- control (Epstein & Goss, 1978) and decided then to grets. ‘‘I’ve had a good life,’’ he said. enter graduate school in psychology to learn more about the topic. That trip I made to Fred Skinner’s The leukemia did not keep him from home in the fall of 1976 was for the same purpose, working, and just 8 days before his death, and I got far more than I bargained for. SKINNER AS SELF-MANAGER 565 organism was the paramount example of the glewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Pub- lications. science of behavior put to good effect on a Carpenter, F. (1974). The Skinner primer: Beyond free- daily basis, a microcosmic Walden Two fully dom and dignity. New York: The Free Press. actualized. Catania, A. C. (1975). The myth of self-reinforce- As a philosopher, Fred was and will re- ment. Behaviorism, 3, 192–199. Catania, A. C. (1976). Self-reinforcement revisited. main controversial. 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