Skinner's Verbal Behavior Research Articles

Commentary on Noam Chomsky's review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal behavior

Commentary on Noam Chomsky's review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal behavior

Crafting Sequences of Sight and Sound: A Behavior Analysis of Filmmaking.

The discipline of film studies often engages in analyses of the functions of filmmakers' decisions in terms of their effects on viewers. Behavior analysis uses a similar, functional-analytic approach toward understanding the relationship between individuals' behavior and the environmental effects that maintain their behavior. Given converging similarities between the two disciplines, a functional analysis of filmmaking is provided, using Skinner (1957)'s Verbal Behavior as a guiding framework. Similar to behavioral conceptualizations of language and speaker-listener verbal episodes, the analysis prioritizes functional explanation of the controlling variables and conditions that underlie the meaning of filmmakers' behavior and behavioral products, rather than solely focusing on their topographical description. Viewers' responses to the audiovisual stimuli of the film are emphasized as key controlling variables, through rules specifying contingency relations as well as through contingency shaping, including when the filmmaker acts as a self-viewer who directly shapes their own behavior. Their responding as a self-viewer during the production and editing of a film is explored as a problem-solving process, similar to other artists who serve as their own audience when creating and editing their behavioral products.

Jack Michael, Behavior Analyst.

Jack Michael was the quintessential behavior analyst. Despite his reputation as a theoretician and expert in verbal behavior and on Skinner's book Verbal Behavior, Jack was actually an applied behavior analyst in the literal sense before anyone had coined the term. Prior to becoming one of Jack's doctoral students at Western Michigan University, I was a behavior-analytic neophyte. After I graduated and began my own teaching (modeled after Jack's behavior-analytic method of teaching) and thinking and writing about behavior analysis, I found myself talking and thinking like Jack. He had a similar behavior changing effect not only on many of his other students, but also on others who had the good fortune to know him.

Derived Relational Responding and Transformations of Function in Children: A Review of Applied Behavior-Analytic Journals.

Theoretical extensions of Skinner's verbal behavior that emphasize derived relational responding (stimulus equivalence, relational frame theory, and bidirectional naming) can improve the complexity and scope of applied behavior-analytic training models with children. We evaluated the prevalence and content of empirical research on derived relational responding in children within 8 major applied behavior-analytic journals. We identified 123 empirical articles that met all inclusion criteria (i.e., they demonstrated derived relational responding in children). Whereas prior citation analyses have shown higher rates of research with adult participants, considerable research within these journals has involved child participants. In addition, 55% of the research targeted socially relevant or culturally established verbal relations, rather than culturally arbitrary relations (e.g., unknown symbols, consonant-vowel-consonant combinations) that are unlikely to affect real-world behavior. Generalization and transformation tests were also present in 47% of articles. We also conducted a content analysis of all articles that contained culturally relevant relations and demonstrated generalization or transformation of stimulus function (21% of all articles, N = 26); we argue that studies that meet these criteria are likely to be the most immediately impactful for learners. Results suggest that future research is needed to evaluate relational frames other than coordination (e.g., distinction, opposition), as well as to extend considerably the complexity of target relational classes and transformations of stimulus function with children.

Empirical Application of Skinner's Verbal Behavior to Interventions for Children with Autism: A Review.

Sundberg and Michael (2011) reviewed the contributions of Skinner's (1957) Verbal Behavior to the treatment of language delays in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and discussed several aspects of interventions, including mand training, intraverbal repertoire development, and the importance of using Skinner's taxonomy of verbal behavior in the clinical context. In this article, we provide an update of Sundberg and Michael's review and expand on some discussion topics. We conducted a systematic review of studies that focused on Skinner's verbal operants in interventions for children with ASD that were published from 2001 to 2017 and discussed the findings in terms of journal source, frequency, and type of verbal operant studied.

Reflections on Verbal Behavior at 60.

In the present essay, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the publication of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior, I stand by and defend the judgment I expressed in my article "The Long Goodbye: Why B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior Is Alive and Well on the 50th Anniversary of Its Publication" (2008c)-that Skinner's "interpretation of the behavior of the speaker, given the contingencies of reinforcement maintained by the community" (Skinner, 1987, p. 11), is not only adequate but is also consistent with the principles of operant learning. To that I add some of my reflections on the book after having taught it for years and having written numerous articles extending Skinner's analysis to related topics.

The impact of Verbal Behavior on the scholarly literature from 2005 to 2016.

B. F. Skinner's (1957) Verbal Behavior had a limited influence on empirical research in the first few decades following its publication, but an increase in empirical activity has been evident in recent years. The purpose of this article is to update previous analyses that have quantified the influence of Verbal Behavior on the scholarly literature, with an emphasis on its impact on empirical research. Study 1 was a citation analysis that showed an increase in citations to Verbal Behavior from 2005 to 2016 relative to earlier time periods. In particular, there was a large increase in citations from empirical articles. Study 2 identified empirical studies in which a verbal operant was manipulated or measured, regardless of whether or not Verbal Behavior was cited, and demonstrated a large increase in publication rate, with an increasing trend in the publication of both basic and applied experimental analyses throughout the review period. A majority of the studies were concerned with teaching verbal behavior to children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities, but a variety of other basic and applied research topics were also represented. The results suggest a clearly increasing impact of Verbal Behavior on the experimental analysis of behavior on the 60th anniversary of the book's publication.

Jack Michael's Musings on the 60th Anniversary of Skinner's Verbal Behavior.

When the B. F. Skinner Foundation reprinted Skinner's Verbal Behavior in 1992, Jack Michael wrote one of its two forewords, a detailed outline of the book's purpose and scope. On the 60th anniversary of the first publication (1957) of Verbal Behavior, Jack reflects on the book's impact and its importance to the understanding of language from a behavioral perspective.

Contributions of Skinner's theory of verbal behaviour to language interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders

ABSTRACTThe purpose of the current paper is to describe the impact of applied behaviour analysis on language treatment for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) diagnoses. Specifically, this paper will describe Skinner's theory of verbal behaviour and its contributions to evidence-based treatments for communication deficits among individuals with ASD. Skinner's book Verbal behavior was written in 1957 but saw increased growth in research publications after its application to individuals with autism in the 1990s. Today, verbal behaviour is an accepted evidence-based practice in behaviour analysis, and mastery of Skinner's theory of verbal behaviour is required for practising behaviour analysts who teach individuals with autism. This paper describes the history of the theory of verbal behaviour, defines the key features of the theory, and presents research supporting its application to the communication development of children with autism.

Using a Verbal Analysis of Lady Gaga's Applause as a Classroom Exercise for Teaching Verbal Behavior.

Learning Skinner's (1957) verbal behavior taxonomy requires extensive study and practice. Thus, novel classroom exercises might serve this goal. The present manuscript describes a classroom exercise in which two students analyzed Lady Gaga's song Applause in terms of its metaphorical arrangements. Through the exercise, students identified various verbal operants and their subtypes, including those seldom researched by the behavioral community (see Sautter and LeBlanc 2006, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 22, 35-48), which helped them conclude that Lady Gaga's Applause is comprised of two themes: the artist taking control, and the artist-as-art.

The multiple control of verbal behavior.

Amid the novel terms and original analyses in Skinner's Verbal Behavior, the importance of his discussion of multiple control is easily missed, but multiple control of verbal responses is the rule rather than the exception. In this paper we summarize and illustrate Skinner's analysis of multiple control and introduce the terms convergent multiple control and divergent multiple control. We point out some implications for applied work and discuss examples of the role of multiple control in humor, poetry, problem solving, and recall. Joint control and conditional discrimination are discussed as special cases of multiple control. We suggest that multiple control is a useful analytic tool for interpreting virtually all complex behavior, and we consider the concepts of derived relations and naming as cases in point.

Chomsky e Skinner e a polêmica sobre a geratividade da linguagem.

O Verbal Behavior é considerado a obra mais importante de B. F. Skinner. Pela sua importância
 este livro foi amplamente discutido e criticado. Uma das críticas mais importantes foi a Resenha
 (Review) de N. Chomsky, a qual tinha como um de seus argumentos basilares a idéia de que o
 Verbal Behavior não trataria do caráter gerativo da linguagem humana. Neste contexto, o objetivo
 deste trabalho foi apresentar a Resenha, sistematizando seus argumentos e sinalizando como
 Chomsky considerou que a visão behaviorista seria incapaz de explicar a geratividade da linguagem
 para, em seguida, apresentar como o Verbal Behavior de Skinner possui argumentos que podem
 contemplar esse caráter gerativo. Como pano de fundo da discussão, uma breve análise histórica
 das duas obras foi realizada para que o contexto das publicações pudesse ser compreendido.

The Impact of Skinner's Verbal Behavior on Organizational Behavior Management

In the book Verbal Behavior, Skinner provided a comprehensive, behavioral account of language. While the impact of Skinner's analysis on empirical research has been examined broadly, this review of the literature focused on studies relevant to organizational behavior management (OBM). Both empirical and nonempirical journal articles in OBM were analyzed, along with several influential books in the field. The results of this review indicate that the conceptual framework provided in Verbal Behavior has had virtually no impact on empirical research in OBM and very limited impact on conceptual work. Potential reasons for this lack of influence are discussed, and further research on verbal behavior in organizations is encouraged.

Language and grammar: A behavioral analysis.

Introduction Speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') academic study of language is heavily influenced by linguistic and cognitive viewpoints. A majority of textbooks and writings familiar to SLPs explore in greater detail the linguistic and structural view of language and offer only a limited summary of the behavioral view whose concepts and implications are not carried throughout the text. Most SLPs are well versed in the phonologic, morphologic, syntactic, and structures of language but are not equally well versed in the functional units that are basic to Skinner's (1957) analysis. Nonetheless, SLP's treatment methods are mostly behavioral (Hegde, 1998, 2008a). Inevitably, this has led to a conceptually inconsistent model of language and treatment of language disorders. Chomsky's (1959) critical review of Skinner's (1957) book--Verbal Behavior--is better known than the book itself. Most students and clinicians seem to be unaware of the invalidity of Chomsky's criticism or the competent responses given to his negative review (e.g., Anderson, 1991; MacCorquodale, 1969, 1970; McLeish & Martin, 1975; Palmer, 2006; Richelle, 1976). Rejoinders to his review have pointed out that Chomsky poorly understood Skinner's Verbal Behavior, behavioral methodology, and behaviorism. Chomsky's misunderstanding of Skinner's book and concepts was so severe that it would prompt most examination graders to read no further (Richelle, 1976, p. 209). Chomsky frequently attributed views of other psychologists to Skinner who had unequivocally repudiated them. In a questionable case of scholarship, Chomsky repeatedly misquoted Skinner (Adelman, 2007). More than four decades after he wrote the review, Chomsky was still a critic of Skinner, and with the same distorted understanding of Skinner's work (Virues-Ortega, 2006). A commonly held assumption among most linguists, and SLPs who follow them, is that Skinner's Verbal Behavior has faded into history. The fact, however, is that research on verbal behavior and treatment of verbal behavior disorders based on Skinnerian analysis are flourishing. Among several others in the Unites States, the journals of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, The Behavior Analyst, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Modification, and several international journals on behavior analysis regularly publish many articles on the Skinnerian verbal behavior analysis and treatment. This journal, Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis is devoted to bridging the gap between the two disciplines. As Schlinger (2008a) has ably demonstrated, Skinner's Verbal Behavior is alive and well. An interesting observation Schlinger makes is that although both Verbal Behavior and Chomsky's (1957) Syntactic Structures had their 50th anniversary in 2007, Skinner's book on Amazon.com, has been selling better than Chomsky's. The verbal behavior approach to treating children with autism is now recognized internationally as the most evidence-based approach. Teaching almost all forms of communication disorders is essentially behavioral (Hegde, 1998, 2006, 2007; Hegde & Maul, 2006; Pena-Brooks & Hegde, 2007), whether some SLPs acknowledge it or not. In fact, if any tide has turned against something, it is the tide against Chomsky's generative linguistics. While Skinner's experimental and applied behavior analysis is thriving worldwide, Chomsky's generative grammar notion has disappeared from linguistics (Harris, 1993; Leigland, 2007). Chomsky's own multiple revisions and qualifications of his 1957 theory have moved away from a cognitive, generative, rule-based theory of language (Schoneberger, 2000). Within just a few years of Chomsky's Syntactic Structures was published, there was the generative semantic rebellion that denied the supremacy of grammar in language. (Linguists often describe newer approaches as revolution, war, rebellion.) Soon came the pragmatic revolution which asserted in the 1970s that language should be understood as actions performed in social contexts--mostly an arm-chair philosophical view which was still structural in its orientation. …

Guest editors' comments.

We are pleased to offer this special issue of the Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis on bridging the gap between the conceptual foundations of speech and language and the treatment procedures used in speech-language pathology (SLP). Our aim in putting this special issue together was to provide the practitioner with a behavioral analytic view of speech and language that is conceptually more consistent with the behavioral treatment widely used in remediating communication disorders in children and adults. Currently, most speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who routinely use the behavioral treatment methods accept the linguistic and cognitive theories in understanding language and language development. Linguistic and cognitive theorists, being mentalistic as well as nativistic, seem unable to derive their own useful treatment procedures from their theories. Treatment of communication disorders, by nature, is experimental, and experimental approaches are based on the philosophy and methods of natural science. The behavioral view of language and language development is a natural science account, as opposed to a cognitive, mentalistic, and nativistic approach. It is precisely for this reason that the behavioral approach has generated experimentally verified treatment procedures. Therefore, adopting a natural science account of verbal behavior--a preferred substitute for language--would be more consistent with experimentally based treatment procedures. Conceptual and treatment consistency is not the only advantage of adopting the verbal behavior view of language. It helps the SLPs avoid spurious, speculative, and untestable theories of language and language acquisition. The verbal behavior view eliminates the contradiction of holding a nativistic view of language while trying to modify speech-language behaviors through environmental changes. The behavioral view will help SLPs target functional (cause-effect) language units in assessment and treatment, instead of unstable or unreliable linguistic categories that are unrelated to potential independent variables. Many other advantages are likely to follow with an approach that integrates the basic analysis of language with experimental treatment procedures. This issue consists of six papers that offer a glimpse of various aspects of Skinner's Verbal Behavior. While the first four papers offer perspectives on the behavioral analysis of language and language development, the last two illustrate the applied aspects of that analysis. Hegde's paper gives a historical background to the publication of Skinner's Verbal Behavior and the linguistic criticisms that followed. The paper then goes on to summarize the various functional units of verbal behavior, an understanding of which is essential to appreciating Skinner's analysis. Dr. Hegde points out the clinical implications of functional units as opposed to linguistic structural units for the work of SLPs. The next paper by McLaughlin offers a behavioral analysis of child language development. Dr. McLaughlin points out that the behavioral view is in fact better able to account for the documented facts of language development in children. Although there has been much research to show that verbal interactions between children and their caregivers are the basis of language learning, the distorted view that only cognitive-nativistic view of language development is valid persists in many textbooks. Dr. McLaughlin counters the generally accepted but unjustified criticism that the behavioral view cannot account for language development in children. Weitzman's paper, next in the series, addresses what linguists consider a difficult issue for behavioral analysts. …

Implications of Skinner's verbal behavior for studying dementia.

Overview of Dementia is a generic term that describes the progressive decline in a number of cognitive abilities such as attention, memory, language, perception, and reasoning that interferes with daily functioning (APA, 2000). can also result in behavioral changes such as wandering or aggression, declines in self-care skills, and mood disturbances such as depression or anxiety. can be caused by a number of different, irreversible causes (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, vascular disease, Pick's disease) as well as reversible causes (e.g., vitamin B12 deficiency, medication overdose). is a serious public health concern in the United States. If one considers all causes of dementia, approximately 6-10% of individuals over the age of 65 suffer from dementia, with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) accounting for approximately 65% of all cases (Hendrie, 1997). Age is the number one risk factor for developing dementia, which is particularly concerning given the rapidly aging population of the United States. It is projected that 13 to 15 million Americans could suffer from AD alone by the year 2050 if no cure is found (Hebert, Scherr, Bienias, Bennet, & Evans, 2003). Language deficits associated with dementia. Language deficits (i.e., aphasia) associated with dementia can take on various forms/topographies, including receptive and expressive language deficits. Language deficits in the early stages of dementia are characterized by pronounced difficulties with speech production as opposed to comprehension (Levine, 2006). Common early stage deficits include word finding deficits (i.e., anomia), poor spontaneous writing, indefinite references (it, those, or thing), repetition of words or ideas, and difficulty understanding complex language such as metaphors or analogies (APA, 2000; Kempler, 1991; Orange, 2001). As the disease progresses deficits such as empty content, inappropriate word substitutions, difficulties following multi-step commands, poor topic maintenance and inappropriate topic shifts, reduced reading comprehension, frequent digression from conversational topics, reduced verbal fluency, difficulties with turn-taking and producing fewer utterances per conversational turn (APA, 2000; Kempler, 1991; Orange, 2001; Levine, 2006) become apparent. In the final stages of the disease, the patient may engage in echolalia, produce continuous streams of nonsensical language, or become mute (Orange, 2001). These language deficits have important everyday implications for patients, and caregivers, who have described communication deficits as one aspect of dementia with which it is particularly challenging to cope (Orange, 1991). The many implications of language deficits associated with dementia will be further described in the sections below. Skinner's Conceptualization of Verbal Behavior and Its Implications for Skinner (1957) distinguished and functionally defined 6 types of verbal behavior including the tact, mand, echoic, textual, intraverbal and autoclitic. To say that these are defined functionally means the categories are delineated according to the reinforcement relations that shaped and/or maintain them as operant responses, not according to any topographical property of the word(s). For example, the word water could be an example of any of the categories, depending upon the conditions that evoke the response. Shouting Water! whenever a river or lake is visible is a tact whereas the same, Water! emitted after an hour in warm sun, even if perfectly similar in tone, inflection, or all formal properties, is a mand, for it is controlled very differently, and has a much different ultimate function. With this critically important difference between the Skinnerian versus traditional analyses (that of grammarians, for example) in mind, the 6 categories are defined in the following sections along with a discussion of a seventh variable--the audience. …

Verbal behavior by B.F. Skinner: Contributions to analyzing early language learning.

Introduction Two pieces of literature appeared quietly and without fanfare in 1957. Each book unalterably affected how we have come to view language, human behavior, and language learning. In 1957, Noam Chomsky published Syntactic Structures (1957), his germinal work that established the foundations of psycholinguistics. This work, in combination with a second publication, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (Chomsky, 1965), broadly influenced research in linguistics and the theoretical relationships between the mind and language. Together, they represented a firm anchor point on one end-the nativistic end-of the philosophical continuum established in 1957. With regard to explaining language development, one of the more publicized features of this theory was the Language Acquisition Device, or LAD. Although there was no intention to correlate this device to any underlying neurological structure, Chomsky proposed the LAD as the presumed innate mechanism in the human brain (or mind) to explain the apparent ease and rapidity with which children acquire language. Although the concept of the LAD has been modified through the years, in the 1960s it became the widely accepted explanation for children's acquisition of language, largely removing caregivers from any active role in their children's language abilities. The opposite anchor point-the behavioral end-on this philosophical continuum was established that same year, when B.F. Skinner published Verbal Behavior (1957). (See Hegde, in this issue, for a comprehensive review of Skinner's Verbal Behavior.) In contrast to Chomsky's approach, Skinner proposed an analysis of verbal behavior based on a natural science account of behavior that had evolved since the earlier publication of his The Behavior of Organisms (1938). In Verbal Behavior, Skinner applied a functional analysis approach to analyze language behaviors in terms of their natural occurrence in response to observable environmental circumstances and the measurable effects they have on human interactions. In this view, language was characterized as the result of, as opposed to the reason for, complex human behavior. The complexities of language do not exist prior to or independent of human behavior; instead the complexities of language behavior reflect our capacity to respond verbally to the complex and subtle intricacies inherent in human experiences and interactions. In Verbal Behavior, Skinner (1957) did not emphasize explaining the nature of early language development; perhaps the explanation seemed obvious to him from the fact that he had invoked an operant model in the overall analysis. Verbal Behavior primarily focused on an explication of the causal variables for the verbal interactions of accomplished speakers and listeners whose learning histories were in place and preceded the verbal behaviors in question-in essence, adult speakers. It is perhaps unfortunate that Skinner emphasized this level of analysis-adult verbal interactions-throughout Verbal Behavior as it ostensibly posed difficulty for some who have tried to explain the development of language under his model. Chomsky critiqued Skinner's functional analysis in a book review that many found puzzling due to several lengthy criticisms put forth by Chomsky that did not relate to principles or concepts contained in Verbal Behavior. Specifically, Chomsky criticized Skinner for proposing imitation and conscientious parental tutoring as the major explanations for language development. Chomsky also took Skinner to task for his supposed reliance on memorized Markovian chains as an explanation for grammar. However, none of these elements were included in Skinner's model. Over the years, attempts to describe how Skinner's model might be applied to children's language development, including recent sources (Owens, 2005; Berko Gleason, 2005; Hulit, 2006), have continued to rely on perpetuating these misconceptions contained in Chomsky's (1959) bewildering (MacCorquodale, 1970, p. …

Questions on verbal behavior and its application to individuals with autism: An interview with the experts.

A note about the interviews from the editors: The use of Skinner's Verbal Behavior (VB) classification system has been increasingly applied to learners with autism. We asked several of the best known behavior analysts to answer some key questions regarding this practice, the state of research regarding the advantages of this approach, and the confusion that exists regarding the application of VB to this population of learners. We structured the responses to follow each question separately, indicating the responder in each case. At the end of the interviews, you will find relevant references from each responder. We are very grateful to Dr. Mark Sundberg, Dr. Barbara Esch, Dr. John Esch, and Dr. Andrew Bondy for their thoughtful and wise replies. 1. Can you briefly explain the relevance of Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior to intervention for children with autism? Bondy Skinner's analysis provides a guide for teachers and professionals, as well as parents, to determine factors that relate to the control of language. When we teach any skill, I must know the controlling conditions currently in place- where we are now- and the controlling conditions I aim for by the end of the lesson- where we are going. Skinner reminds us to always consider the ABCs of behavior and not to become 'blinded' by the behavior in isolation. Esch and Esch First, it's important to recognize that the advantages of Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior (1957) aren't limited to just those individuals with a diagnosis of autism. The analysis is widely applicable to any language behavior, whether typical or atypical, developmentally appropriate or developmentally delayed, regardless of age, diagnosis, or etiology of condition. Skinner's analysis made it clear that language responses occur, not in isolation, but within a context of ongoing environmental events (i.e., antecedents and consequences). Responses that occur within particular contexts are said to have different functions. As Iwata and colleagues (1982/1994; also see Hanley, Iwata, & McCord, 2003; Lerman et al., 2005) and many other researchers (see Sautter & LeBlanc for a review, 2006) have shown, a functional analysis of behavior is critical to informing intervention. If responses are weak, wrong, or otherwise somehow deficient, an analysis of the contexts in which they occur can help us determine what to do. That is, we can identify the stimuli that currently evoke and maintain behavior (or those that currently fail to do so) and we can compare this information to the stimuli that should control these, or other, responses that we want to develop. Then we can use behavioral procedures (e.g., prompting, fading, differential reinforcement) to eliminate errors by establishing desired language skills (or other skills) under appropriate stimulus control. Without this analysis, we run the risk of recommending interventions that may be ineffective at best, or detrimental at worst. For children with a diagnosis of autism, Skinner's analysis also provides a wealth of why to's. Many skills that are absent or difficult to acquire for individuals with autism (e.g., echoic, self-echoic, self-editing, problem solving, autoclitics) are discussed in Verbal Behavior, yet these topics remain severely under-investigated by researchers. It would be very helpful to have more research in these areas so that clinical interventions could be developed to address these important skills. Sundberg The most important component of an intervention program for a child with autism involves the development of language and social skills (e.g., Lovaas, 1977). In the early years of autism treatment (i.e., Bijou, Baer, Wolf, Risley, Hart, Sloane, Birnbrauer, and Lovaas, at the University of Washington in the 1960s) immediate and significant gains in language and social skills were made from the systematic use of basic behavioral procedures (e. …

Relational frame theory: an overview of the controversy.

Although Skinner's Verbal Behavior (1957) was published over 50 years ago, behavior-analytic research on human language and cognition has been slow to develop. In recent years, a new behavioral approach to language known as relational frame theory (RFT) has generated considerable attention, research, and debate. The controversy surrounding RFT can be difficult to fully appreciate, partly because of the complexity of the theory itself and partly because the debate has spanned several years and several journals. The current paper aims to provide a concise overview of RFT and a summary of key points of debate and controversy.

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

Introduction During the last decade there has been a growing trend for direct collaboration between the fields of speech-language pathology (SLP) and applied analysis (ABA). A common overlap between the focus of the two fields is in the area of communication assessment and intervention for the purposes of enhanced interaction skills and management of inappropriate behaviors resulting from inadequate communication skills (Koenig and Gerenser, 2006). Disagreements among professionals from both fields often can be a result of a difference in terminology. Take for example, the definition of the term A definition adopted by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association was developed by the National Joint Committee for the Communicative needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities (1991, p. 2). Any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person information about that person's needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge or affective states. Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may involve conventional or unconventional signals, may take linguistic or nonlinguistic forms, and may occur through spoken or other modes. This definition emphasizes the shared meaning established between a speaker and a listener. The Joint Committee concluded, Thus, all persons do communicate in some way. Additionally, the success of a communicative exchange could depend on the listener happening to witness the speaker's and interpreting that as communicative. The 1957 publication of B.F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior provided the field of ABA with a definition of communication. Skinner refers to behavior as reinforced through the mediation of other people (p.2) and specified that the 'listener' must be responding in ways which have been conditioned precisely in order to reinforce the of the speaker [by the verbal community] ... In other words, a speaker acts in a manner that is under the stimulus control of an audience (a listener) and the listener then provides the reinforcing consequence. It is through reinforcement of a specific verbal community (the French, the English, the Spanish) that a child learns the grammar and vocabulary of a particular community. The definitions from both fields emphasize that communication can occur in many modalities, just the spoken modality. A source of confusion in the field of SLP has been in defining the terms speech, communication, and verbal. Reports of a student including phrases such as not verbal, or non-verbal, can lead to erroneous conclusions. A speech pathologist might assume that this means that the student is yet speaking. A person using Skinner's definition would conclude that the student has no communication skills at all in any modality. The less ambiguous terminology to describe the student who is speaking would be non-speaking or non-vocal. This could mean that the student has a sophisticated language system in a non-speech modality such as pictures, sign language, or writing. Skinner's definition also helps us to identify behaviors of a student that are verbal behavior. Behaviors that lead to direct access to reinforcing consequences are communicative because access to those consequences is dependent upon another person. For example if a student goes to a table and picks up a we would say that this is communicative as the action was aimed directly at the book. On the other hand, if the student says to the teacher sitting at the table, I want that book, and the teacher hands it to the student, we would say that this is verbal behavior. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of Skinner's analysis of verbal and its application to assessment and remediation of communication deficits. A description of Skinner's primary verbal operants will be provided. …