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A Chronology of the Events Detailed in

The Tyranny of Ambiguity

being an account of the development of the system of behaviour analysis called

Procedural Analysis



Dates of the Events Documented in the Book

Some readers of the First Edition of TOA expressed confusion as to when the events detailed in The Tyranny of Ambiguity took place. The book is in strict chronological order, and I was concerned not to have the book seem dated even on its publication. Hence the dates were not emphasized. The chronology is fairly easily established by the explicit statement of the start of Experiment 1 and subsequent references to the passage of the seasons, and other pointers. However, to clarify, a list of dates by section is given below. In the Second Edition the date is stated explicitly at the top of the chapter.

Simon G. Sheppard





The Tyranny of Ambiguity


Dates by Section


Part 1: Sugar and Spice

1. Preliminaries. Experiment Zero

2. Experiment 1. The Environment of Amsterdam

June 1992.

3. Experiment 2. Strategies. Dynamic Systems

July 1992.

4. Sexual Anarchy. The Tyranny of Ambiguity

5. Projection. Paragonism. Costs and Benefits of Sex. Experiment 3

July-August 1992.

6. UK Trip. Other Studies. Notable Encounters

August 1992.

7. Big Sister

August 1992.

8. Experiment 4, Part 1

August 1992.

9. Experiment 4, Part 2

August 1992.

10. The Signals Day

September 1992. (The Signals Day was 3 September 1992.)

11. The Theory and Practice of Signals

September 1992.

12. The Induction of Neurosis

September 1992.

Part 2: The Fall

13. Womanstown

September 1992.

14. Basic Sex Differences

15. Pair 2 and Pair 3

September 1992.

16. Analysis and Comment

17. The Pram Count. Glimpses of Normality

Survey 1 was undertaken September – October 1992.

18. The Fall

November 1992. The incident relating to Neurotic Suspension (‘The Bystander Effect’) detailed in the Footnote on p. 250 occurred on 21 August 1993.

19. Signals, Markers, Tokens and Handles

20. Second UK Trip. IoR

November 1992.

21. BIGBAR3 Note. ‘Telepathic’ and Assent Signals

December 1992.

22. Christmas and the New Year. F25G

December 1992 – January 1993.

23. Female Stereotypes. Spoiling

24. Two Evenings in BAR6

Written in London February 1993.

Part 3: Big Sister

25. The Fire. North and South of England

February 1993.

26. The Dynamical Laws of Female Behaviour

February 1993.

27. A Neurotic Incident. Queen’s Day

April 1993. Queen’s Day was 29 April 1993.

28. Matriarchy

29. Forms and Indicators of Female Influence

Survey 2 undertaken 29 May 1993 – 24 July 1993.

30. The Feminization of Society. BSF

31. The Mindfuck Experiment, Part 1

July – September 1993.

32. The Mindfuck Experiment, Part 2

July – September 1993.

33. Power. The Dishonest Submergence of Difference

34. Transduction

September 1993.

35. Female Preference for Alien Males

Spring 1994.

36. Race

April – June 1994.

37. Children. Survey 3

October 1994.

38. The Fulcra. City of Broken Dreams

– January 1995.




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