--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A self is a repertoire of behavior…" description: "\"A self is a repertoire of behavior appropriate to a given set of contingencies.\" — B. F. Skinner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_a-self-is-a-repertoire-of-behavior-appro_2301867.png" --- # A self is a repertoire of behavior appropriate to a given… ![“A self is a repertoire of behavior appropriate to a given set of contingencies.” quote by B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_a-self-is-a-repertoire-of-behavior-appro_2301867.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_a-self-is-a-repertoire-of-behavior-appro_2301867.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_a-self-is-a-repertoire-of-behavior-appro_2301867.png) > “A self is a repertoire of behavior appropriate to a given set of contingencies.” [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Behavior is shaped by environmental conditions and the organism’s learned responses to them. **In simple terms:** Behavior depends on the environment and learned responses. Key Takeaway Adapt behavior to fit circumstances. Themes psychology behaviorism learning Mood analytical reflective Type theoretical practical When to use this quote - education - workplace management - animal training - personal habit formation Key Concepts operant conditioning reinforcement contingency theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you adjust actions when conditions change? - What role do internal thoughts play? A Different Perspective May overlook internal cognition and emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [That's all teaching is; arranging contingencies which bring changes in behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/that-s-all-teaching-is-arranging-contingencies-which-bring-changes-in/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [To require a citizen to sign a loyalty oath is to destroy some of the loyalty he could otherwise claim, since any subsequent loyal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/to-require-a-citizen-to-sign-a-loyalty-oath-is-to-destroy-some-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A president must be on the job 24/7, ready for any contingency, any crisis, anywhere, anytime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-president-must-be-on-the-job-24-7-ready-for-any-contingency-any/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“emancipatory politics must always destroy the appearance of a ‘natural order’, must reveal what is presented as necessary and inevitable to be a mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-fisher/emancipatory-politics-must-always-destroy-the-appearance-of-a-natural/) [Mark Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-fisher/) > [... regard this body as a machine which, having been made by the hand of God, is incomparably better ordered than any machine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/regard-this-body-as-a-machine-which-having-been-made-by-the-hand-of/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“But do you imagine there’s a certain type of person in the world who conforms to the idea of a ‘bad person'? You’ll never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsume-s-seki/but-do-you-imagine-there-s-a-certain-type-of-person-in-the-world-who/) [Natsume Sōseki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsume-s-seki/) > [The denial of "self" challenges only the notion of a static self independent of body and mind-not the ordinary sense of ourself as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/the-denial-of-self-challenges-only-the-notion-of-a-static-self/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [Life, as the most ancient of all metaphors insists, is a journey; and the travel book, in its deceptive simulation of the journey's fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/life-as-the-most-ancient-of-all-metaphors-insists-is-a-journey-and/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [The very essence of civilized culture is that we deliberately institute, in advance of the happening of various contingencies and emergencies of life, devices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/the-very-essence-of-civilized-culture-is-that-we-deliberately/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [You can’t control every contingency. You have to accept that. Let it scare you. Trust that it’ll be okay anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/you-can-t-control-every-contingency-you-have-to-accept-that-let-it/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“The universe made no promises. It owes you nothing. It did not invite you to be born. It made no commitments that it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-m-kohl/the-universe-made-no-promises-it-owes-you-nothing-it-did-not-invite/) Tobias M. Kohl > [“Evaluation must be done in hindsight, after the work has been done, not for proposals for work to be done. That said, secondary factors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venkatesh-narayanamurti/evaluation-must-be-done-in-hindsight-after-the-work-has-been-done-not/) Venkatesh Narayanamurti > [We will build a Marine Corps based on 36 battalions, which the Heritage Foundation notes is the minimum needed to deal with major contingencies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-will-build-a-marine-corps-based-on-36-battalions-which-the/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [What fiction offers us is an intimacy shorn of the messy contingencies of human existence - gender, race, class or age. Those moments of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/what-fiction-offers-us-is-an-intimacy-shorn-of-the-messy/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“Seriously, this old woman had no idea how close she came to being squashed like a roach. -Sage Hannigan, Contingency”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-martinez/seriously-this-old-woman-had-no-idea-how-close-she-came-to-being/) P. S. Martinez ## More by B. F. Skinner > [To require a citizen to sign a loyalty oath is to destroy some of the loyalty he could otherwise claim, since any subsequent loyal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/to-require-a-citizen-to-sign-a-loyalty-oath-is-to-destroy-some-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A first principle not formally recognized by scientific methodologists: when you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-first-principle-not-formally-recognized-by-scientific/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The problem of far greater importance remains to be solved. Rather than build a world in which we shall all live well, we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-problem-of-far-greater-importance-remains-to-be-solved-rather/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I remember when I was a freshman in college, I was still somewhat bothered by... worried... about religion. I remember going to this professor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-remember-when-i-was-a-freshman-in-college-i-was-still-somewhat/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Those who have had anything useful to say have said it far too often, and those who have had nothing to say have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/those-who-have-had-anything-useful-to-say-have-said-it-far-too-often/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I would be opposed to any kind of totalitarian control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-would-be-opposed-to-any-kind-of-totalitarian-control/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A disappointment is not generally an oversight. It might just be the best one can do the situation being what it is. The genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-disappointment-is-not-generally-an-oversight-it-might-just-be-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The simplest and most satisfactory view is that thought is simply behavior - verbal or nonverbal, covert or overt. It is not some mysterious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-simplest-and-most-satisfactory-view-is-that-thought-is-simply/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/behavior-is-shaped-and-maintained-by-its-consequences/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The alphabet was a great invention, which enabled men to store and to learn with little effort what others had learned the hard way-that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-alphabet-was-a-great-invention-which-enabled-men-to-store-and-to/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The people who control the condition in which we live have no reason to think beyond more than the next five or 10 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-people-who-control-the-condition-in-which-we-live-have-no-reason/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I am opposed to the military use of animals. I am also opposed to the military use of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-am-opposed-to-the-military-use-of-animals-i-am-also-opposed-to-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A person's genetic endowment, a product of the evolution of the species, is said to explain part of the workings of his mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-person-s-genetic-endowment-a-product-of-the-evolution-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Reinforcement is being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/reinforcement-is-being-right/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [If you're old, don't try to change yourself, change your environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/if-you-re-old-don-t-try-to-change-yourself-change-your-environment/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) [Explore all 105 B. F. Skinner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) ## More Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) Burne Hogarth > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) J. Willard Gibbs > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-tipping-point-is-that-magic-moment-when-an-idea-trend-or-social/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I think we've told a lot of lies about human behavior through film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/i-think-we-ve-told-a-lot-of-lies-about-human-behavior-through-film/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/the-strongest-rebellion-may-be-expressed-in-quiet-undramatic-behavior/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 4,218 Behavior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A self is a repertoire of behavior appropriate to a given set of contingencies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "B. F. Skinner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-self-is-a-repertoire-of-behavior-appropriate-to-a-given-set-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behavior" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-self-is-a-repertoire-of-behavior-appropriate-to-a-given-set-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_a-self-is-a-repertoire-of-behavior-appro_2301867.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_a-self-is-a-repertoire-of-behavior-appro_2301867.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/b-f-skinner-4812_behavior_a-self-is-a-repertoire-of-behavior-appro_2301867.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A self is a repertoire of behavior appropriate to a given set of contingencies.” — B. F. Skinner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "B. F. Skinner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A self is a repertoire of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-self-is-a-repertoire-of-behavior-appropriate-to-a-given-set-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-self-is-a-repertoire-of-behavior-appropriate-to-a-given-set-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```