Las siguientes son citas extraídas de:

Skinner, Burrhus Frederic (1953)

Science and human behavior
New York, Appleton - Century - Crofts, Inc.

The consequences of behavior may "feed back" into the organism. When they do so, they may
change the probability that the behavior which produced them will occur again. (p. 59)

The term "learning" may profitably be saved in its traditional sense to describe the re-assortment
of responses in a complex situation. (...) In operant conditioning we "strengthen" an operant in the
sense of making a response more probable or, in actual fact, more frequent. (p. 65)

Behavior which evokes a smile or the verbal response "That's right" or "Good" or any other
commendation is strengthened. We use this generalized reinforcer to establish and shape the
behavior of others, particularly in education. For example, we teach both children and adults to
speak correctly by saying "That's right" when appropriate behavior is emitted (p. 78)

A generalized reinforcer distinguished by its physical specifications is the token. The commonest
example is money. It is the generalized reinforcer par excellence because, although "money won't
buy everything," it can be exchanged for primary reinforcers of great variety.
(…)
Money is not the only token. In education, for example, the individual behaves in part because of
the marks, grades, and diplomas which he has received. (p. 80)

Education is the establishing of behavior which will be of advantage to the individual and to others
at some future time. The behavior will eventually be reinforced in many of the ways we have
already considered; meanwhile reinforcements are arranged by the educational agency for the
purposes of conditioning. (p. 402)

If science does not confirm the assumptions of freedom, initiative, and responsibility in the
behavior of the individual, these assumptions will not ultimately be effective either as motivating
devices or as goals in the design of culture. We may not give them up easily, and we may, in fact,
find it difficult to control ourselves or others until alternative principles have been developed. But
the change will probably be made. (p. 449)