Human Behavior and the Principle of Least Effort: An Introduction to Human Ecology

 This classic is arranged as follows: 

Preface 
1. The Question of Practical Application. 
2. The Question of Natural Science. 
1. Introduction and Orientation 
I. The Selection of a Path 
II. The “Singleness of the Superlative” 
III. The Principle of Least Effort 
IV. The Scope of the Principle: “Tools-and-Jobs” 
V. Previous Studies 
VI. Prospectus 
2. On the Economy of Words 
I. In Medias Res: Vocabulary Usage, and the Forces of Unification and Diversification 
II. The Question of Vocabulary Balance 
III. The Orderly Distribution of Meanings 
IV. The Integrality of Frequencies 
V. The Integrality of Rank 
VI. The Length of Intervals Between Repetitions 
VII. The Problem of Spreading Work Over Time (The Even Distribution of Work Over Time) 
3. Formal Semantic Balance and the Economy of Evolutionary Process 
I. The “Minimum Equation” Of Arrangement 
II. The Law of Abbreviation of Words 
III. The Law of Diminishing Returns of Tools 
IV. The Law of Diminishing Returns of Words 
4. Children’s Verbalizations and the “Origin of Speech” 
I. The Problem 
II. Quantitative Data 
III. Theoretical Discussion of the “Origin” Of Speech 
IV. Summary 
5. Language as Sensation and Mentation 
I. The Comparative Conservatism of Tools in the Risks and Opportunities of the Environment 
II. The Economy of Sensation 
III. Mentation: The Correlation of Sensory Data 
IV. A Mind as a Unit Semantic System 
V. Intellectual Rigidity and Death: Miscellanea 
V. Summary: The N Minimum 
6. The Ego as the “Origin” Of a Frame of Reference 
I. A Definition of an Organism 
II. The Biosocial Population of Organisms 
III. The Economy of Procreation 
IV. The Synchrony of the Biosocial Continuum 
7. Mind and the Economy of Symbolic Process: Sex, Culture, and Schizophrenia 
I. Human Sexual Activity 
II. The Economy of Symbolic Process (Substitution 
III. Culture, Society, and the Superego 
IV. Autism and the Confusion of Kinds of Reality 
V. On Schizophrenic Speech 
VI. Semantic Dynamics: Summary 
VI. Language and the Structure of the Personality 
8. The Language of Dreams and of Art 
I. The Language of Dreams 
II. The Language of Art 
III. Language and the Structure of the Personality: Mary of Part One 
9. The Economy of Geography 
I. A Lemma in Which a Number of Human Beings Becomes Increasingly More Organized 
II. The Hypothesis of the “Minimum Equation” 
III. Empiric Tests 
IV. Concluding Remarks 
10. Intranational and International Cooperation and Conflict 
I. Canadian Data 
II. Unstable and Stable Intranational Conditions 
III. Stable and Unstable International Equilibria 
11. The Distribution of Economic Power and Social Status 
I. Theoretical Considerations 
II. Empiric Data 
III. The Interaction Between Individuals: Dominance and Submission 
IV. Summary 
12. Prestige Symbols and Cultural Vogues 
I. Theoretical Considerations 
II. Pioneer Empiric Data 
III. Musical Composers and Compositions 
IV. Samples of Congressional Action 
V. Summary