Skinner's Verbal Behavior Research Articles

Listening is behaving verbally.

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior, it may be important to reconsider the role of the listener in the verbal episode. Although by Skinner's own admission, Verbal Behavior was primarily about the behavior of the speaker, his definition of verbal behavior as "behavior reinforced through the mediation of other persons" (1957, p. 2) focused on the behavior of the listener. But because many of the behaviors of the listener are fundamentally no different than other discriminated operants, they may not appropriately be termed listening. Even Skinner noted that the behavior of the listener often goes beyond simply mediating consequences for the speaker's behavior, implying that the listener engages in a repertoire of behaviors that is itself verbal. In the present article I suggest that listening involves subvocal verbal behavior. I then describe some of the forms and functions of the listener's verbal behavior (including echoic and intraverbal behavior) and conclude that there may be no functional distinction between speaking and listening.

Análise comportamental do discurso: fundamentos e método

Este estudo descreve uma Análise Comportamental do Discurso (ACD), apresenta seus fundamentos e um método para efetivá-la, inferido de O Comportamento Verbal, de Skinner. Propõe a tese de que a ACD possa ser uma vertente de Análise do Discurso (AD), devido aos seus fundamentos epistemológicos: anti-mentalismo, anti-realismo e contextualismo. Discurso é um conjunto de comportamentos verbais sob controle das contingências de reforço (históricas e atuais) cujo sentido advém desse controle. Ao construir seu discurso, o falante combina operantes essenciais (mandos e tatos) em grupos temáticos intraverbais (emitidos às vezes como se fossem tatos) que são modificados com autoclíticos apropriados.

Review of Verbal behavior analysis: Inducing and expanding new verbal capabilities in children with language delays.

Greer &. Ross (2007): Verbal Behavior Analysis: Inducing and Expanding New Verbal Capabilities in Children with Language Delays Language impairments affect 7% of preschool children (Ziegler, 2005). Some of these children will catch up to their peers, but many will continue to have problems at school age. For example, Paul (2000) found that 16% of children with expressive language delays at age 2 continued to present with language impairments at the age of 7. Additionally there is evidence that early problems with oral language are related to later problems with the development of literacy skills (Bartlett, et al., 2002). Moreover, when language impairments accompany developmental disabilities (e.g., autism, mental retardation), they are likely to remain a life-long challenge. Professionals from a variety of disciplines have developed approaches to language intervention over the past 80 years (Paul, 2007). Within that context, behavioral approaches have emerged among the most effective, especially for teaching children with autism and related disabilities (Goldstein & Hockenberry, 1991). Traditionally, behavioral approaches emphasized modeling, imitation, systematic prompting, differential reinforcement and discrete trial instruction as a primary instructional format (e.g., Lovaas, 1981). However, more recently the behavioral framework has been expanded to include an emphasis on functional analysis and especially Skinner's (1957) functional analysis of verbal behavior. Additionally, natural environmental teaching (NET) strategies (e.g., incidental teaching, mand-model) were added to the repertoire of important instructional formats, and a review of recent studies supports the effectiveness of these formats (Petersen, 2006 for children with language delays. Skinner (1957) originally developed the verbal behavior model to account for the continuity between operant behavior and language. Others are responsible for applying the model to language instruction (e.g., Sundberg & Partington, 1998; Greer & Ross, 2007). These applications have gradually come to be known as the verbal behavior (VB) approach. Carr and Firth (2005) recently reviewed the published literature on VB practices and pointed to the need for additional research. We believe that his call for research has been addressed in part by Greer and Ross's (2007) book: Verbal Behavior Analysis: Inducing and Expanding New Verbal Capabilities in Children with Language Delays. This book represents the culmination of considerable research, practice, and critical thinking by a Greer and his colleagues (e.g., Greer & Keohane, 2006; Greer, Keohane, & Healy, 2002; Tsai, & Greer, 2006). It addresses many interesting and important questions about the verbal behavior approach, and it offers an evidence-based framework for best practices in behavioral language intervention, including detailed information about assessment, instructional strategies, and procedures for evaluating treatment efficacy. It is highly engaging and conveys complex theoretical information in a clear and reader-friendly style. It is an excellent source of information for students planning a career in communicative disorders, for behavior analysts who wish to enhance their understanding of Skinner's verbal behavior framework, for parents of children with communicative disorders, and for professionals in the fields of developmental disabilities and early intervention. An important feature of this book is that it includes an empirical account of verbal behavior development, and it t may be the first comprehensive account of language development that incorporates Skinner's (1957) verbal behavior model. It describes a developmental trajectory marked by developmental cusps (Rosales-Ruiz & Baer, 1966; Bosh & Hixson, 2004). In some linguistic and cognitive accounts of language development, stages of language growth have been attributed to neurological factors such as a language acquisition device (e. …

Extended analysis of empirical citations with Skinner’s Verbal Behavior: 1984–2004

The present paper comments on and extends the citation analysis of verbal operant publications based on Skinner's Verbal Behavior (1957) by Dymond, O'Hora, Whelan, and O'Donovan (2006). Variations in population parameters were evaluated for only those studies that Dymond et al. categorized as empirical. Preliminary results indicate that the majority of empirical research in the area of verbal behavior has been conducted with the younger developmentally disabled population and has focused on verbal operants from the introductory chapters of Skinner's book. It is clear that Verbal Behavior has influenced empirical research over the past 50 years. We believe, however, that there are many underdeveloped research areas originating from Verbal Behavior that have not yet been addressed. Suggestions for extended areas of research are provided.

The influence of Bloomfield’s linguistics on Skinner

Bloomfield's "Linguistics as a Science" (1930/1970), Language (1933/1961), and "Language or Ideas?" (1936a/1970), and Skinner's Verbal Behavior (1957) and Science and Human Behavior (1953) were analyzed in regard to their respective perspectives on science and scientific method, the verbal episode, meaning, and subject matter. Similarities between the two authors were found. In particular both asserted that (a) the study of language must be carried out through the methods of science; (b) the main function of language is to produce practical effects on the world through the mediation of a listener; and (c) a physicalist conception of meaning. Their differences concern the subject matter of their disciplines and their use of different models for the analysis of behavior. Bloomfield's linguistics and Skinner's functional analysis of verbal behavior are complementary approaches to language.

Meta-scientific Eliminativism: A Reconsideration of Chomsky's Review of Skinner's Verbal Behavior

The paper considers our ordinary mentalistic discourse in relation to what we should expect from any genuine science of the mind. A meta-scientific eliminativism is commended and distinguished from the more familiar eliminativism of Skinner and the Churchlands. Meta-scientific eliminativism views folk psychology qua folksy as unsuited to offer insight into the structure of cognition, although it might otherwise be indispensable for our social commerce and self-understanding. This position flows from a general thesis that scientific advance is marked by an eschewal of folk understanding. The latter half of the paper argues that, contrary to the received view, Chomsky's review of Skinner offers not just an argument against Skinner's eliminativism, but, more centrally, one in favour of the second eliminativism. 1. Introduction 2. Preliminaries: What Meta-scientific Eliminativism is Not 3. Meta-scientific Eliminativism3.1. Folk psychology and cognitive science 4. Two Readings of Chomsky's Review of Skinner 5. Issues of Interpretation5.1. A grammar as a theory 5.2. Cartesian linguistics 5.3. Common cause 6. Chomsky's Current View

An underdiscussed aspect of chomsky (1959).

Chomsky's (1959) review of Skinner's (1957)Verbal Behavior has been influential and attributed with a role in the cognitive revolution. However, while counter reviews from within behavior analysis have noted that Chomsky misunderstood the subject matter, certain aspects of his scholarship have been underdiscussed. This includes several instances where Chomsky misquotes Skinner or takes his quotes out of context. Similar to the findings of Sokal (1996a, 1996b), it is speculated that the problems with Chomsky were overlooked by cognitive psychologists because his general outlook was accepted. Implications for the editorial review process are discussed.

Fifty years later: Comments on the further development of a science of verbal behavior.

Fifty years after the publication of Skinner's Verbal Behavior, some possibilities for the future of Skinner's of verbal are considered. Specifically, certain areas of development or advancement are examined which might be of special importance to the expansion and influence of the functional analysis of verbal behavior. One critical task for the influence of the field, for example, involves the removal of an obstacle; namely, the remarkably persistent and wholly inappropriate influence of Chomsky's polemic of 1959. Strategies for neutralizing this influence are explored. In looking at the future advancement of the field, case is offered for broadening the domain of verbal behavior research to include variety of complex verbal phenomena. Skinner's original work and more recent systematic treatments provide an important framework for the analysis of verbal behavior, but there is still room for, and need for inductively oriented, empirically based research programs that transcend specific interpretive or theoretical treatments. Such programs, under the guidance of the practices of radical behaviorism and effective behavior-analytic methodology, might provide additional lines of development and progress for the analysis of verbal behavior. Keywords: Verbal Behavior, radical behaviorism, functional analysis, inductive, empirically based. ********** In previous paper (Leigland, 2001), I offered modest assessment of progress toward Skinner's conception of a science of verbal (e.g., Skinner, 1945, 1957). On this fifty-year anniversary of the publication of Skinner's (1957) Verbal Behavior, I here offer an equally modest update on that progress in light of continuing developments in behavior analysis, recent developments in other fields, the effects of continuing impediment to the development of science of verbal behavior (or at least the recognition of developments by those outside behavior analysis), and suggestion regarding the expansion of sources of research programs in the field of verbal behavior. Verbal behavior is undoubtedly the most important and conspicuous behavioral characteristic of humans in relation to other species. From planning trip to the grocery store, to the development of new cultural practices, to genocide, the influence of verbal relations are seen virtually everywhere in human affairs. It is arguably the most important field for the future of behavior analysis (e.g., Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, & Roche, 2001; Leigland, 2001). Further, if the field of behavior analysis is ever to become growing and thriving presence in academia (e.g., in psychology departments), it must become viable, competing alternative to cognitive theory and research, nearly all of which is directly or indirectly related to verbal behavior. This in turn would mean the growth of basic behavior-analytic research programs in verbal behavior (which, unlike many other areas of inquiry, is in unique systematic position for the associated development of useful applications based on that research). While such developments would require considerable time and effort, opportunities may be arising for the promotion of functional analysis of verbal behavior. Obstacle First, it may be time to reconsider familiar and persistent obstacle to the promotion of behavior-analytic verbal behavior program. The impact of Chomsky's (1959) review of Skinner (1957) appears undiminished after nearly fifty years. In fact, the notion that Chomsky's review somehow destroyed Skinner's analysis seems to have moved beyond conventional wisdom to the status of one of the foundational axioms of Western Civilization. No hard data will be offered here in support of this statement, but recent stories abound of (for example) editors of major psychology journals who refuse to consider manuscript on verbal behavior simply because Chomsky had already shown Skinner's program to be unworkable. …

Review of The verbal behavior approach: How to teach children with autism and related disorders.

Focusing mostly on the pragmatic issues parents and professionals will face when initiating an Applied Verbal Behavior (AVB) program for a child with autism, The Verbal Behavior Approach gives novices a logical, useful, and reader-friendly book that will assist them in a search for practical advice on AVB. The Verbal Behavior Approach provides useful information and resources for immediate application, accomplishing the book's main objective, providing for rapid implementation of an AVB program. Keywords: Autism, Verbal Behavior, Applied Verbal Behavior, Applied Behavior Analysis. ********** Parents of children with autism are a distinct group. The communication, behavioral, and social diagnostic criteria that characterize autism will take parents through a process that for some, necessitates a complete life reorientation. Mary Barbera is one of these parents. Barbera wrote a book, in conjunction with her co-author, Tracy Rasmussen, that represents the resolve of this distinct parent population. She changed careers to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst for her son, Lucas, but she wrote this book for future parents. Practical tips and personal examples are amply provided throughout the chapters, reflecting her experiences as both a mother of a child with autism and a professional. Her knowledge of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is apparent as she advocates for her of choice, Applied Verbal Behavior (AVB) The Verbal Behavior Approach is not, nor claims to be, a scholarly work based on research findings. Given Barbera's target audience, it makes sense that research references were sparse. In addition, Barbera recognizes that AVB is still developing as a research-supported and acknowledges that there are no controlled large group studies on this approach (p. 23). Barbera explains that she chose AVB because of the many single- subject studies, her son's experience of improved behaviors and skills, and the improvements she has observed in others she has served as a behavior analyst. In addition, AVB is based on the principles of ABA, which are strongly backed by research. In Chapter One, Barbera states that a primary goal of her book is to outline the VB so that parents and professionals have basic information about it and can begin to incorporate some of the information immediately (p.23). To this end, the book reads like a field guide. Barbera presents the information in a manner that is both accessible to parents and technically accurate. The book is well-organized by chapter (not unlike Skinner's Verbal Behavior) and includes applied examples and practical directions, many from Barbera's own professional and personal experiences. In each chapter, Barbera takes difficult concepts and explains them in a way that makes them comprehensible to parents and emerging professionals. For example, she states that a reinforcement system is necessary, and that while it may seem like an easy task to create such a system, It's a complicated dance that you really end up creating as you go along. (p. 59). Put this way, readers understand that they are not expected, at the outset, to know exactly what will work as a reinforcer. Barbera also highlights that one can only determine what serves as a reinforcer after observing how the delivery of a particular stimulus affects future response rates. Acknowledging the complexity further, Barbera emphasizes that figuring out what will serve as a reinforcer for an individual child may require a formal process, such as a reinforcer assessment. Throughout the book, Barbera stresses the importance of pairing the child's work area and instructors with positive reinforcement. She stresses that the development of rapport with the child is a prerequisite to learning. Assessment of the child's operant repertoire, receptive and imitative skills, and visual performance is discussed in a manner that is thorough enough for the purposes stated by the author. …

On Chomsky's Appraisal of Skinner's Verbal Behavior: A Half Century of Misunderstanding.

The history of the writing of Verbal Behavior (Skinner, 1957), Chomsky's review (1959), and MacCorquodale's rebuttal (1970) are briefly summarized. Chomsky's recent reflections on his review are analyzed: Chomsky's refusal to acknowledge the review's errors or its aggressive tone is consistent with his polemical style but comes at a minor cost in consistency and plausibility. However, his remarks about the place of Skinner's work in science reveal misunderstandings so great that they undercut the credibility of the review substantially. The gradual growth in the influence of Skinner's book suggests that its legacy will endure.

Science and human behavior: A review of William Baum’s Understanding Behaviorism: Behavior, Culture, and Evolution (2nd ed.)

Generally speaking, behavior analysts are acutely aware of the need for increased communication with those in other fields about the characteristics and achievements of behavior analysis. This awareness may be most acute among those of us who have regular contact with those in various areas of psychology, philosophy, communication, computer science, and other fields. Recently, a particularly salient indicator of how far we have to go in making our work clear to others arrived in the mail. It was a complimentary copy of a small book of “classic readings” in the history of the various subfields of psychology. Noticing that a paper by Watson had been included in an early part of the book, I looked ahead to the section on “Learning” to see if behavior analysis was represented through a paper by Skinner, for example. Thirty years of reading and discussion with critics had, I believed, immunized me from whatever absurdity I might find there, but I soon found myself staring at the “classic paper” in the field of learning: Chomsky's (1959) review of Skinner's (1957) Verbal Behavior. The review was a polemic that not only hopelessly misrepresented Skinner's systematic interpretations of verbal phenomena and that is not only hopelessly out of date regarding the respective research fortunes and fates of Chomsky's theory and Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior, but that might also be regarded as a misguided indictment of the entire field of learning. There are a variety of ways in which behavior analysts might reach out to other fields and to the general public. One way, of course, is to expand the literature of general, introductory, or semipopular treatments of the field. There is a great deal of explaining and describing to do to correct the remarkably persistent set of misperceptions surrounding behaviorism in general and behavior analysis in particular (e.g., Friman, Allen, Kerwin, & Larzelere, 2000; Leigland, 2000; Robins, Gosling, & Craik, 1999). The recent second edition of William Baum's Understanding Behaviorism: Behavior, Culture, and Evolution (2005) is an excellent example of an accessible and comprehensive introduction to behavior analysis. The new edition is a refinement of the original work, Understanding Behaviorism: Science, Behavior, and Culture (1994). The small change in subtitle calls attention to expanded and clarified connections between behavior analysis and evolutionary concepts in the new edition. The overall structure and layout of the book are the same as the original, but the new edition includes some changes in style and emphasis. For example, beyond the broader and clarified relations to evolution, this edition also expands the role of the molar analysis of behavior (emphasizing temporally extended contingencies and activities; e.g., Baum, 2002), although the more traditional molecular analysis (emphasizing temporally contiguous relations between momentary events) is given fair treatment throughout. The new edition also increases readability for nontechnical audiences by making greater use of ordinary-language terms in illustrations and examples. Like the first edition, the book is divided into four sections, each of which will serve as the basis for comments below.

Citation Analysis of Skinner's Verbal Behavior: 1984-2004.

The present study undertook an updated citation analysis of Skinner's (1957)Verbal Behavior. All articles that cited Verbal Behavior between 1984 and 2004 were recorded and content analyzed into one of five categories; four empirical and one nonempirical. Of the empirical categories, studies that employed a verbal operant from Skinner's analysis were assigned to either basic, applied, or observational categories. Empirical studies that did not employ a verbal operant were categorized as other-empirical. The total number of citations remained stable across the review period and averaged just over 52 per year. Of these, 80% were from nonempirical articles, 13.7% were from other-empirical articles, 4% were from applied articles, 1.4% were from basic articles, and 0.9% were from observational articles. An "obliteration" analysis was also conducted to identify articles that employed Skinner's verbal operant terms but did not cite Verbal Behavior. This analysis identified 44 additional articles, suggesting that a degree of obliteration had occurred in the half century since the publication of Verbal Behavior. In particular, the analysis suggests that the verbal operant of manding has sufficient presence in the applied empirical literature to render citation of Verbal Behavior redundant. Overall, Verbal Behavior continues to make an important contribution to the psychological literature.

A common language: Using B.F. Skinner's verbal behavior for assessment and treatment of communication disabilities in SLP-ABA.

A common language: Using B.F. Skinner's verbal behavior for assessment and treatment of communication disabilities in SLP-ABA.

Derived manding in children with autism: synthesizing Skinner's verbal behavior with relational frame theory.

Mand functions for two stimuli (A1 and A2) were trained for 3 children with autism and were then incorporated into two related conditional discriminations (A1-B1/A2 -B2 and B1-C1/B2-C2). Tests were conducted to probe for a derived transfer of mand response functions from A1 and A2 to C1 and C2, respectively. When 1 participant failed to demonstrate derived transfer of mand response functions, transfer training using exemplars was conducted. When participants had demonstrated derived transfer of mand functions, the X1 and X2 tokens that were employed as reinforcers for mand responses were incorporated into two conditional discriminations (X1-Y1/X2-Y2 and Y1-Z1/Y2-Z2). Tests were conducted for derived transfer of reinforcing functions. Finally, tests were conducted to determine if the participants would demonstrate derived manding for the derived reinforcers (present C1 and C2 to mand for Z1 and Z2, respectively). Derived transfer of functions was observed when the sequence of training and testing was reversed (i.e., training and testing reinforcing functions before mand response functions) and when only minimal instructions were provided.

Does the new paradigm in ape-language research ape behaviorism?

Although Shanker & King (S&K) disregard the behavioral paradigm, their arguments are reminiscent of those in Skinner's Verbal Behavior (1957). Like S&K, Skinner maintained that communication is not appropriately characterized as the transmission of information between individuals. In contrast to the paradigm advocated by S&K, however, the behavioral paradigm emphasizes prediction and control as important scientific goals.

INTRODUCTION

In the past century major changes in the study of language learning, and its attendant effects on language instruction, derived from the espousal of behavioral psychology by structural linguistics of the Bloomfieldian persuasion. Did not the founder of this strand of structuralism, who collaborated in the Army language manual for the teaching of Russian under the revealing pseudonym of I. M. Lisnin, declare: “Language learning is overlearning, nothing else is of any use”? Noam Chomsky's (1959) brilliant demonstration of the reductionism of the most extreme form of behaviorism—Skinner's operant conditioning (Review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior, Language, 35, 26–58)—triggered the demise of the influence of behavioristic views of language acquisition. This demise was accompanied by that of the structural approach to second language teaching associated with such applied linguists as Robert Lado, although it must be acknowledged that the combination of these two theoretical strands did lead to significant changes in foreign language classrooms—for example, the abandonment of grammar translation and a shift of focus from written texts to speech. However, what applied linguists of that generation failed to do was to observe how actual second language learners in both naturalistic and instructed contexts process and reorganize linguistic input, how they intake it, and how they turn it into output in communicative interactions. It was not until the impact of Chomskian-inspired studies of first language acquisition and Pit Corder's (1967) seminal “The significance of learners' errors” (International Review of Applied Linguistics, 5, 161–170) that the second language learner came into focus and that the field of second language acquisition research began to flourish. In this connection, it is noteworthy that bringing to a wider international audience the proceedings of the Neuchâtel colloquia led by Corder served as a catalyst for the launching of SSLA.

Verbal behavior: History and future.

Abstract Since the publication of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior (1957), interest in a behavioral approach to the study of language has grown. Skinner laid an impressive framework for the interpretation of many language-related phenomena that were traditionally left to linguists and philosophers. What Skinner lacked was any sound empirical data to support his analyses. Recently, behavior analysts have suggested that, despite much promise, there is a scarcity of research derived from Skinner's Verbal Behavior. However, in the years since the publication of Verbal Behavior, the amount of verbal behavior research published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at professional conferences has increased. Moreover, technology derived from a behavioral analysis of language has been to great use in a variety of clinical settings. The future of verbal behavior research and theory seems promising, especially as behavior analysts move toward incorporating into the behavioral arsenal relevant methodological and technological advances from other fields. ********** Since the publication of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior (1957), interest in a behavioral approach to the study of language has grown. In the years immediately following publication, Verbal Behavior itself drew much criticism from the behavioral community because of the theoretical, rather than empirical, basis for the book. Skinner laid an impressive framework for the interpretation of many language-related phenomena that were traditionally left to linguists and philosophers. What Skinner lacked was any sound empirical data to support his analyses. The power of his book was largely dependent on the acceptance of language as behavior similar to the nonverbal behavior that had been studied in the laboratory by Skinner and his colleagues for 20-years. However, the behavioral community's reluctance to accept Skinner's work with open arms is not to say that the topic itself was dismissed. Rather, it seemed that it was time for behavior analysts to put their money where their mouths were. If no research had yet demonstrated the effectiveness of Skinner's analysis, then it was time to it to the test. The success that the behavioral community has had in doing so remains a subject of debate. Recently, behavior analysts have suggested that, despite much promise, there is a scarcity of research derived from Skinner's Verbal Behavior. In reality, this oft-promoted idea seems largely unjustified. If one restricted themselves to the pages of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior (TAVB), which is arguably the flagship journal for verbal behavior, then it could seem that the fruits of Skinner's labor were largely theoretical in nature (see below). A closer look at other behavioral journals and journals outside of behavior analysis reveals a different picture, however. John Eshleman (1991) undertook an exhaustive review of psychology journals searching for verbal behavior research, the results of which were published in TA VB. Although Eshleman started with traditional computer searches, he soon graduated to physically looking through actual journals and reviewing each article, not just those with seemingly related descriptors or mentions of Skinner. Additionally, he reviewed the proceedings of the Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA) since 1975 and tallied the number of verbal behavior presentations. Eshleman found that actually, the amount of empirical research related to Skinner's 1957 analysis had steadily increased over the years. He proposed that comparisons of verbal behavior research to other areas of behavioral research resulted in a distorted picture. That is, the amount of verbal behavior research published each year continues to be much less than published research from other areas of behavior analysis. However, if verbal behavior research is compared to itself over the years, there is a clearly accelerating trend. …

PECS: Potential benefits and risks.

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is an augmentative /alternative communication strategy for those who display little or no speech. The rationale for PECS and its training sequence is described. Each phase of training is associated with specific behavior analytic teaching strategies. Skinner's analysis of Verbal Behavior forms the basis for teaching particular skills at specific points in the training sequence and also provide guidelines for how best to design the teaching strategies. Common problems and potential solutions are offered for various levels of training. The relationship between PECS and the co-development of speech, as well as its impact upon other behaviors (e.g., behavior management concerns, social orientation, etc.) is briefly reviewed. ********** The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS: Bondy & Frost, 1994; Frost & Bondy, 1994) has become a popular communication strategy for children with autism and other communication disorders (see Siegal, 2000; Yarnall, 2000). As with any system that rapidly expands in use, there are pitfalls associated with its application (and misapplication). I will briefly describe PECS and its potential benefits as well as review several important concerns associated with its use. is functional communication? To best understand the sequence of training steps in PECS, it is helpful to review the key aspects of functional communication as well as common difficulties sometimes encountered with other modalities of The cornerstone to an analysis of communication from a behavioral perspective rests with Skinner's Verbal Behavior (1957). (This brief review does not permit detailed definitions of the key verbal operants, i.e., mands, tacts, intraverbals, echoics, autoclitics, etc. but the reader is advised to read the original source as well as recent comments and suggestions within the journal The Analysis of Verbal Behavior.) Skinner's primary points about this topic include that the verbal behavior of the 'speaker' (quotation mark used to avoid overemphasis of the vocal modality) was under the stimulus control of the 'listener.' Furthermore, the role of the listener is to mediate reinforcement of the speaker- either in terms of consequences specified by the speaker (as in the mand function) or social reinforcement (including 'educational' reinforcers--see page 84). A succinct paraphrase defining functional communication is suggested: Functional communication involves behavior (defined in form by the community) directed to another person who in turn provides related direct or social rewards. Just as the consequences of verbal behavior help to define the function so, too, do the antecedent conditions. Pure tacts are under the stimulus control of some aspect of the environment, rather than the verbal behavior of someone else. That is, by asking, What do you see? while holding a up to a child, we enhance the probability of the child saying pen but we have introduced additional stimulus control issues. Thus, responding to questions is not the same verbal operant as spontaneously manding or tacting. This observation is important given the common practice in many communication-training programs of beginning with imitation and/or responding to questions to begin training. The potential problem with such strategies is that if the questions are not rapidly and carefully removed, some children are reported to be 'prompt dependent.' This observation is not a recent one. In fact, early descriptions of vocal imitation-based training often contained remarks in the discussion sections such as, While Billy acquired 50 words via imitation, he failed to generalize to spontaneous communication. That is, without stimuli such as, Say.... or What Is ...? or What do you ...? many children remained essentially silent. Various strategies, including incidental teaching were developed precisely to overcome these types of limitations of communication acquisition. …

Toward a science of verbal behavior: Progress and challenges.

A fully -developed science of verbal is of greatest priority but has been slow to develop within analysis. Nevertheless, progress continues to be made in number of areas, especially in acquisition of verbal repertoires and in experimental analysis of symbolic functions. Several other areas of research await further development, and formidable methodological challenges await larger development of verbal field, as powerful and direct methods of analysis confront subtle and awesome complexity of human verbal interactions. The challenge must be faced, however, as analysis actualizes its potential as complete and comprehensive human science, and makes what would be its greatest contribution to future of humankind. ********** In speaking to issues relevant to human verbal behavior, B. F. Skinner made occasional references to what he called, a science of verbal behavior (e.g., Skinner, 1945, 1957). The references appear to be made to specialized and integral part of field of analysis. The references indicate possibility; part of behavioral science not yet developed, but capable of powerful analyses of most conspicuous and unique functions of human beings. Progress has certainly been made toward development of such science, but progress has been slow and many challenges remain. The purpose of this commentary is to provide brief overview of one perspective on progress and challenges involved with developing science of verbal (Leigland, 2001). The various effects of Skinner's (1957) book Verbal Behavior are stuff of legend. The sophistication of book's extensive interpretations were eclipsed for some decades by Chomsky's (1959) notorious polemic, but in recent years there have been signs, beginning perhaps with Andresen (1990), that book may be poised for discovery by larger psychological/linguistic communities. Accompanying this discovery, psychological community will be treated with great irony as well. As research programs on verbal derived from Skinner's work continue to rise and also to prove their worth in applied arena, Chomsky's theories have been increasingly recognized as failures in context of their own goals and explanatory practices (for detailed history by linguist, see Harris, 1993; for an informative overview and update by analyst, see Schoneberger, 2000). Nevertheless, fact that Skinner's (1957) book did not lead rapidly and directly to an organized empirical attack upon new subject matter has been subject of much speculation and commentary. What has happened instead of rapid and direct development of unified experimental program is gradual evolution of several different strategic lines of empirical research. At least in retrospect, such development should not be too surprising, given complexity of subject matter involved. Also, in late 1950s, the experimental analysis of behavior was still primarily in scientific business of relatively simple experimental preparations with non-humans, and was only beginning to move into systematic applications to human behavior. Now, like subject matter itself, analysis of verbal is complex and multifaceted, with researchers pursuing variety of research strategies and themes. In looking briefly at progress of field, two research areas, each important to analysis of verbal behavior, will be reviewed in summary fashion (Leigland, 2001). PROGRESS The first area may be described in general terms as acquisition of verbal repertoires. In analysis, this is area that has been most directly influenced by Skinner's (1957) Verbal Behavior, in that researchers and practitioners make productive use of Skinner's original classification of verbal operants (e. …

Requirements for paradigm shift.

Since Noam Chomsky's famous 1959 review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior, a linguistically based paradigm for research in first language acquisition has been strong, even in some senses, dominant. Even Piaget, whose main concern was the nature of cognitive development in general, did not deny the essential claim of a linguistically based paradigm for the study of language acquisition: ‘I (Piaget) also agree with him (Chomsky) on the fact that this rational origin of language presupposes the existence of a fixed nucleus necessary to the elaboration of all languages’ (Piaget in Piatelli-Palmarini, 1980: 57). This linguistically based paradigm has led to a developed theory of what it is that the child must acquire when s/he acquires language, and to precise scientific hypotheses regarding the nature of this knowledge. These hypotheses can be, and are being, subjected to empirical test, thus advancing the scientific foundations of the field. In this paradigm, the postulation of a ‘Language Faculty’ in the mind of the human species, and in the child, has allowed the formulation of specific components of linguistic knowledge which are now being tested in language acquisition as well as in grammars of languages of the world.