The notion of variability in Skinner’s work

Abstract

The authors trace Skinner’s notions of variability as the Skinnerian explanatory system of bahavior was built. Two different notions of variability are identified in Slinner’s work over the early years. Skinner often dealt with the notion of variability in the thirties. The conquest of behavioral variability was an initial challenge to be met by the new science of bahavior and initially variability was taken (and characterized) as the occurrence or the non-occurrence of a given response in a given condition. As Skinner’s explanatory system developed, nevertheless, a second notion of variability arose and behavioral variability became identified with changes occuring on distinct dimensions of different response instances. It was this second notion of variability – assumed to be characteristic of either operant or respondent behavior – that, apparently, lead Skinner to the concept of response class which, in turn, revealed the difficulties involved in the identification of any given behavior. The authors conclude the analysis of the development of Slinner’s notion of variability by asserting that: (a) the discovery of the laws describing behavioral variability, which was the early task of Skinner’s explanatory system, gave rise to the laws describing behavioral selection; (b) Skinner’s explanatory system did reconcile the apparently opposite notions of variability and determination of a phenomenon, but, more than that, the development of the explanatory system lead to the assumption of variability as a constitutive (and substantive) element of a new causal mode for the explanation of behavior. Finally, (c)Skinner’s treatment of variability suggested a new challenge to be met by those studying behavior: to understand the very selection of variability.