Psychology of the scientist: LXXXII. Coverage of classical conditioning in textbooks in the psychology of learning, 1952-1995.

Objective information was obtained from 89 textbooks in the psychology of learning published from 1952 through 1995 to answer questions about their coverage of classical conditioning. We found (a) that classical conditioning consistently received less coverage than instrumental and operant conditioning, (b) that the distinction of classical and instrumental conditioning has become established as a textbook-construction device, (c) that use of the classical-instrumental distinction by textbook authors has "hardened" after a period of "fluidity" in the 1970s, (d) that the currency of references in the basic classical (as well as instrumental) conditioning chapters diminished from 1952 to 1995. Findings are discussed in regard to the possibility that, as a class, and in comparison to other textbooks, the textbooks of the psychology of learning fall short of fulfilling some of their recognized roles.