Between Stimulus and Response There Is a Space. In That Space Is Our Power To Choose Our Response

Viktor E. Frankl? Stephen R. Covey? Rollo May? Thomas Walton Galloway? Sheldon P. Stoff? B. F. Skinner? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: It is possible to control ones reactions and feelings even when one is faced with frightening hardships. The psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl has been credited with the following:

Between stimulus and response there is space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom.

I doubt this ascription because no one provides a proper citation. What do you think?

Quote Investigator: Researchers have been unable to find this passage in the works of Viktor E. Frankl.

Instead, the words were popularized by the influential motivational author Stephen R. Covey; however, he disclaimed authorship. Covey stated that he read the passage in a book while he was on sabbatical in Hawaii, but he was unable to recall the name of the book or the author. Also, the precise phrasing employed by Covey varied over time. He may have been reading an article by the influential psychologist Rollo May. Details for this hypothesis are given further below.

An intriguing thematic precursor appeared in the 1917 book “The Use of Motives in Teaching Morals and Religion” by Thomas Walton Galloway. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:^[1]1917 Copyright, The Use of Motives in Teaching Morals and Religion by Thomas Walton Galloway (Professor of Zoology, Beloit College), Chapter 3: Some Essential Natural Elements in Education, … Continue reading

Personality has three main parts: (1) the receiving portion (receptors) that looks out on stimuli (attention and appreciation are its great functions); (2) a responding side (effectors) that looks toward behavior or response; and (3) that which lies between stimulus and response whose function is to correlate and adjust behavior to stimulus. This third region is where our real personal values lie. This is where we grow most.

QI believes that the top candidate for Covey’s reading material was an article within a 1963 collection called “Behavioral Science and Guidance: Proposals and Perspectives”. The article titled “Freedom and Responsibility Re-Examined” was authored by the psychologist Rollo May. The following passage discussed “freedom” and a “pause”. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:^[2]1963, Behavioral Science and Guidance: Proposals and Perspectives edited by Esther Lloyd-Jones and Esther M. Westervelt, Article: Freedom and Responsibility Re-Examined by Rollo May, Start Page 95, … Continue reading

Freedom is thus not the opposite to determinism. Freedom is the individual’s capacity to know that he is the determined one, to pause between stimulus and response and thus to throw his weight, however slight it may be, on the side of one particular response among several possible ones.

The words above differed from Covey’s, but an inexact recollection may have led Covey to paraphrase May’s notion.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

The theme of a “pause” or “gap” between “stimulus and response” occurred multiple times in May’s 1963 article as shown by the following two additional excerpts:^[3]1963, Behavioral Science and Guidance: Proposals and Perspectives edited by Esther Lloyd-Jones and Esther M. Westervelt, Article: Freedom and Responsibility Re-Examined by Rollo May, Start Page 95, … Continue reading

Out of this capacity to experience a “gap” between self and world, between stimulus and response, man has developed his capacity to use symbols, to reason, and to speak in language. These are the unique ways in which mind expresses itself.

Indeed I would define mental health as the capacity to be aware of the gap between stimulus and response, together with the capacity to use this gap constructively.

In 1967 C. Harold McCully published an article in the periodical “Guidelines”, and he presented a condensed version of May’s statement while citing the 1963 article:^[4]1967 April, Guidelines, Volume 5, Number 3, Article: Conceptions of Man and the Helping Profession by C. Harold McCully, Start Page 106, Quote Page 109, The State Department of Public Instruction, … Continue reading

Man has the capacity for pause between stimulus and response — he may choose among alternatives in responding (May, 1963). This is the taproot of individual freedom.

In 1975 Rollo May published a book titled “The Courage to Create” which included a chapter called “The Delphic Oracle as Therapist”. The chapter contained a statement that matched the saying under examination:^[5] 1975, The Courage to Create by Rollo May, Chapter 5: The Delphic Oracle as Therapist, Quote Page 100, W. W. Norton & Company, New York. (Verified with scans)

Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we wish to throw our weight. The capacity to create ourselves, based upon this freedom, is inseparable from consciousness or self-awareness.

In 1976 a collection called “Opening Up Education” included an essay titled “The Currency of Freedom” by Sheldon P. Stoff of Adelphi University. The essay contained a thematic statement:^[6]1976, Opening Up Education: A Theoretical and Practical Guide to the Open Classroom, Edited by Gene Thibadeau (Indiana University of Pennsylvania), Chapter 2O: The Currency of Freedom by Sheldon P. … Continue reading

Yet human behavior is still being explained by current psychology in terms of the stimulus-response theory. This theory may suit automatons but it denies the very premise of human freedom: Namely, that man himself shall intervene (to choose and to decide) between stimulus and response. It ignores the real man and his climb towards lasting values. In its undue emphasis on externals it loses sight of the inner quest, the fateful encounter of a man with himself, his primary need for self-conquest.

In 1989 Stephen R. Covey published the bestselling self-help book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” which included a discussion of Viktor Frankl who was imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Covey spells “Viktor” as “Victor”:^[7]1989, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic by Stephen R. Covey, Chapter: Habit 1 Be Proactive, Quote Page 69 and 70, Simon & Schuster, New York. (Verified … Continue reading

They could control his entire environment, they could do what they wanted to his body, but Victor Frankl himself was a self-aware being who could look as an observer at his very involvement. His basic identity was intact. He could decide within himself how all of this was going to affect him. Between what happened to him, or the stimulus, and his response to it, was his freedom or power to choose that response.

Covey reiterated the point above several times in the book, but he was not presenting a quotation from Victor Frankl:^[8]1989, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic by Stephen R. Covey, Chapter: Habit 1 Be Proactive, Quote Page 70, Simon & Schuster, New York. (Verified with … Continue reading

Our unique human endowments lift us above the animal world. The extent to which we exercise and develop these endowments empowers us to fulfill our uniquely human potential. Between stimulus and response is our greatest power—the freedom to choose.

Near the end of the volume Covey mentioned that years earlier he and his family had taken a sabbatical leave from his university to live for a year in Oahu, Hawaii. While visiting a local college library he encountered a book with a passage that affected him deeply:^[9]1989, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic by Stephen R. Covey, Chapter: Habit 7 Inside-Out Again, Quote Page 309 and 310, Simon & Schuster, New York. … Continue reading

I read the paragraph over and over again. It basically contained the simple idea that there is a gap or a space between stimulus and response, and that the key to both our growth and happiness is how we use that space.

I can hardly describe the effect that idea had on my mind. Though I had been nurtured in the philosophy of self-determinism, the way the idea was phrased—“a gap between stimulus and response”—hit me with fresh, almost unbelievable force.

In 1994 Covey co-authored a book titled “First Things First” with A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill. In this work Covey presented an exact match to the quotation under examination. He saw the words in an unnamed book, but he employed the phrase “the essence of it” to signal that his memory was inexact:^[10]2003 (Copyright 1994), First Things First: To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill, Section One: The Clock and the Compass, Chapter … Continue reading

Stephen: Years ago, as I was wandering between the stacks of books at a university library, I chanced to open a book in which I encountered one of the most powerful, significant ideas I’ve ever come across. The essence of it was this:

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

That idea hit me with incredible force. In the following days, I reflected on it again and again.

In 2001 a message in the Usenet newsgroup alt.martial-arts.karate.shotokan implausibly attributed the quotation to psychologist B. F. Skinner:^[11]2001 June 1, Usenet discussion message, Newsgroup: alt.martial-arts.karate.shotokan, From: Tazman @hotmail.com, Subject: Re: What’s wrong with the Dojo Kun? (Google Groups Search; Accessed … Continue reading

It follows my discussion on faith, finances, and this: Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom (B.F. Skinner).

In 2004 Covey wrote the foreword to a book by Pat Croce. Covey retold the tale of discovering the book that inspired the quotation. Interestingly, he specified the year 1969:^[12]2004, Lead or Get Off the Pot!: The Seven Secrets of a Self-Made Leader by Pat Croce with Bill Lyon, Section: Foreword by Stephen R. Covey, Start Page xiii, Quote Page xiii, A Fireside Book: Simon … Continue reading

In 1969, I took a sabbatical from my university teaching to write a book. Wandering through the stacks of a university library in Hawaii one day, I pulled down a book, opened it, and read three lines that truly changed my life. They became the foundation for my own work, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Covey’s memory from 2004 of what he read in 1969 suggests that he may have been inspired by the quotation in Rollo May’s 1963 article or by the condensed statement in C. Harold McCully’s 1967 article. On the other hand, it is unlikely that he was inspired by Rollo May’s 1975 book “The Courage to Create” because it appeared too late.

Also in 2004 a message in the Usenet newsgroup alt.recovery.addiction.alcoholism attributed the quotation to Victor Frankl and specified a book that does not contain the quotation:^[13]2004 March 20, Usenet discussion message, Newsgroup: alt.recovery.addiction.alcoholism, From: neuro equipoise @webtv.net, Subject: Re: It’s not your fault. (Google Groups Search; Accessed … Continue reading

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.” — Victor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

In 2008 Covey wrote the foreword to “Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Viktor Frankl’s Principles for Discovering Meaning in Life and Work” by Alex Pattakos. Covey gave a slightly different version of the quotation and stated that he had unsuccessfully attempted to determine the author:^[14]2008, Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Viktor Frankl’s Principles for Discovering Meaning in Life and Work by Alex Pattakos, Ph.D., Section: Foreword by Stephen R. Covey, Quote Page viii, Read How … Continue reading

I read the following three lines, which literally staggered me and again reaffirmed Frankl’s essential teachings:

Between stimulus and response, there is a space.
In that space lies our freedom and our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our happiness.

I did not note the name of the author, so I’ve never been able to give proper attribution. On a later trip to Hawaii I even went back to find the source and found the library building itself was no longer present.

In conclusion, Stephen R. Covey discovered a passage in a book that he believed beautifully articulated the thoughts of Viktor E. Frankl. The passage was not written by Frankl. Also, Covey was never able to recall who wrote the words. Further, Covey altered the words over time. By 2004 one version of the text had incorrectly been ascribed directly to Frankl.

The top candidate for Covey’s inspiration is a passage in a 1963 article by Rollo May. The phrasing is different, but the vocabulary and the underlying idea are quite similar.

(Great thanks to Craig Terlau, Shira Taylor Gura, Gavin Morrice, Brian Salomaki, and Gary Gach whose inquiries led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Both Terlau and Salomaki helpfully pointed to Covey as the popularizer of the saying. The Wikiquote webpage for Viktor Frankl also points to Covey. Special thanks to Charles McLafferty Jr. who told QI about the important passage written by Rollo May in “The Courage to Create”. McLafferty acknowledged the help of Dmitry Leontiv and Alex Pattakos in identifying the connection to Rollo May.

Many thanks to Elizabeth Lock who provided crucial information to QI. Lock found a match in a book called “Readings in Guidance” that pointed to the article by Rollo May titled “Freedom and Responsibility Re-Examined” in the 1963 collection “Behavioral Science and Guidance: Proposals and Perspectives”. Lock suggested that Covey’s remark was derived from May’s 1963 article.)

Update History: On March 23, 2018 the 1968 and 1975 citations for Rollo May were added. On March 26, 2018 the article was revised to indicate that the quotation was missing in the 1968 citation. On March 27, 2018 the 2004 citation to Covey’s foreword within a book by Pat Croce was added.On September 21, 2018 QI added citations dated 1963 and 1967. QI also updated the conclusion.