The analysis of human operant behavior: A brief census of the literature: 1958-1981.

The authors counted every human-operant paper from 1958 to 1981. They looked at who was studied and where the papers lived.

They read titles and abstracts in JEAB and other journals. They sorted studies by topic and by type of person used.

Most work used healthy college students sitting in small labs. JEAB carried almost all of the papers.

Big parts of daily life—like how we shop, drive, or parent—were barely touched.

Kazemi et al. (2019) shows today’s ABA master’s programs still teach the same JEAB classics. The 1982 list is now the canon.

Goldstein et al. (1991) looked at the same years but found almost no studies on people with severe disabilities. Together the two reviews show the field left whole populations out.

Geckeler et al. (2000) review obesity self-management—one of the “missing” topics the 1982 paper said was scarce. The gap started to close only after the census ended.

If you write a thesis or grant, check the empty shelves first. The census tells you which human questions are still wide open. Try testing reinforcement outside the lab—with shoppers, drivers, or elders. You might plant the seed for the next 20 years of research.