In 1963, Skinner’s Harvard colleagues Charles Catania and…
““In 1963, Skinner’s Harvard colleagues Charles Catania and David Cutts put humans through the pigeon paces by instructing each of twenty-six undergraduate subjects to press one of two different buttons on a box whenever a yellow light flashed and to try to accumulate as many points as possible on a counter. Whenever the subject gained a point a green light flashed. A red light indicated that the session was over, which was when the subject reached one hundred points. Unbeknownst to the subjects, only the right button could generate points, and those points were delivered on a VI schedule of reinforcement, with an average time between point delivery of thirty seconds. The results were revealing in that human brains are no less superstitious than bird brains: most of the subjects quickly developed superstitious button-pushing patterns between the left and right buttons, because if they pressed the left button just before the right button happened to deliver a point, that particular pattern was reinforced. Once subjects established a superstitious button-pushing pattern, they stuck with that pattern throughout the session because they continued to be reinforced for it.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
People develop superstitious habits when random reinforcement appears linked to their actions, even if unrelated.
In simple terms: Random rewards cause false belief in cause‑effect.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions about cause and effect.
Themes
superstition
reinforcement
behavior
psychology
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
educational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- gambling
- workplace incentives
- education
- habit formation
Key Concepts
operant conditioning
cognitive bias
Questions to Reflect On
- What patterns do you assume are causal?
- How can you test if a habit is truly effective?
A Different Perspective
Superstition can be reduced with transparent feedback and data.