The early 1960s saw the introduction of two textbooks that attempted to teach the foundations of behavior analysis using principles of programming and learning that had been shown to be effective in the laboratory. The first was Holland and Skinner's The Analysis of Behavior (1961), which was followed by Geis, Stebbins, and Lundin's Reflex and Operant Conditioning: The Study of Behavior (1965). Because few authors have attempted to expand upon these early examples, most texts on behavior analysis differ little in terms of format from those in other fields. One notable exception is Keith Miller's Principles of Everyday Behavior Analysis (1997).
This textbook is unique for several reasons. First, the material was tested on students before publication (Miller & Weaver, 1976). Second, it goes beyond all contemporary textbooks in terms of requiring responses from students. Through its workbook construction, Principles of Everyday Behavior Analysis shapes responding by sequencing concepts, by reviewing them in subsequent lessons, and by requiring students to respond to dozens of questions. (The questions used have been tested and revised over the past 15 years. The author states that they now have "an error rate of less than 15%.") Third, the application of principles and techniques, along with numerous examples, is stressed throughout.