BEHV/O 465 Verbal Behavior
Skinner considered his 1957 book Verbal Behavior to be his most important work. Skinner rejected cognitive explanations of language as the transmission of thoughts and ideas that start in our minds. Instead, he analyzed verbal behavior as behavior controlled by basic behavioral processes, including positive reinforcement and stimulus control. In this course, students read and analyze the concepts in Verbal Behavior, such as the mand, tact, intraverbal, and autoclitic. The distinction between radical and methodological behaviorism is discussed, including a discussion of how behavior analysts treat private events and covert verbal behavior. Students read research on applications of verbal behavior to improving the communication of individuals with language delays. There is also an emphasis on practical applications of the analysis of verbal behavior. Products of this course include a teaching program based on verbal behavior and a paper extending ideas or research avenues in verbal behavior.