The Organization of Behavior

Sonia Goltz has demonstrated that investment decisions may be affected by schedule of reinforce- ment, partial reinforcement, and consistent rein- forcement. This is an important finding, and it raises a fundamental question: What sort of further work with reinforcement schedules is indicated? In my opinion, we are beckoned by highly promising, but as yet relatively unmined, areas of research that we may characterize as being concerned with or- ganization or behavioral coherence. We need more work at the level of organization investigated by Sonia Goltz. And we need more work at still higher levels of organization, an almost pristine concern. In considering behavioral cohesion, we may begin with fixed-ratio schedules, as viewed by Skinner (1938).