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Verbal Behavior

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Verbal behavior is a classic work and one the most neglected and underrated scientific texts of century, erroneously believed by many to have been conclusively demolished by Noam Chomsky (whose work in competition with Freud's is possibly the most overrated). Skinners analysis of verbal behavior differs from other accounts both in psychology and linguistics in being entirely naturalistic and free of the quite far-reaching metaphysical assumptions about 'meanings' and 'rules' inherent in traditional approaches. The latter focus on an idealized and abstract entity (grammatically correct language) which does not really exist, whereas Skinner analyses the verbal behavior actually performed by people. He demonstrates that a large amount of linguistic phenomena can be interpreted and explained by the principles of operant conditioning which have been demonstrated in laboratory experiments and he explores the consequences of this analysis for problems normally only addressed by philosophers, such as the nature of meaning, the social aspects of language, the possibility of a private language and the nature of thinking. Many philosophers will surprised to learn that some of the best ideas of the later Wittgenstein can be found more clearly and elegantly expressed by Skinner.

Skinner's VB is a fascinating read and is the bedrock on which subsequent analyses of VB stand. It was and is an ambitious, risky, brilliant work. Despite its flaws in the final few chapters, the influence of this work on modern clinical- and applied-behavior-analysis is significant. Skinner's chapters on tacting (the VB of accurately, usefully labeling one's own behavior and the objects or qualities of one's world) and manding (asking for what one wants or needs from others) should be required reading for every psychotherapist. Contrary to popular opinion, VB was not refuted by Chomsky and never died. The proof of this has been in its usefulness for analysis, intervention and the improvement of human behavior. This is not BFS's most accessible work. Thus, three suggestions: (re)Reading BFS's _Science and Human Behavior_ OR _About Behaviorism_ may be an advisable refresher before tackling VB. Additionally, Kohlenberg and Tsai's (1991) Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (especially their chapter on the Self)will make clear, simply and compellingly, the importance of a rich, carefully trained repertoire of verbal behavior to the healthy development of the human. Finally, spending some time looking at the data - actual studies of verbal behavior in the journals JABA or VB - really highlights that a useful marriage of theory, philosophy and technology were brought forth by this book. Sr+ reading!

A key finding of Radical Behavorism is the role and power of operant behavior. An importance of "Verbal Behavior" is that it suggests that operant behavior can explain much of human language and, with that, much of human thought. So with this book, Skinner could feel that his findings on operant behavior had the power to help us understand "mental" and "psychological" aspects of being human that hitherto had been no better defined that a Tarot deck could do.

My only one reading so far seems quite inadequate. I had to make an effort to get through the first half, in which a lot of fundamentals are introduced. Fortunately, all the preparation paid off for me in the second half, which I found quite exciting. Much of it, oddly, given that I was struggling at times to understand, felt familiar. I thought "Yes, that's how I revise my speech, yes, that's how I think, yes that's how I adjust what I am saying with my audience in mind."

Skinner's hypothesis that thinking is a behavior (verbal and nonverbal) of the same basic kind (albeit of its own nature and complexity) as other human behavior hit me with the greatest force. It implies that, although for each of us there are private events, dualism is overcome. It may not be that we're "beyond freedom and dignity" as that we've rendered such terms obsolete - because we now we have the knowledge to do what needs doing instead of spouting empty words about it.

"Verbal Behavior" lives: for example, extending Skinner's "Verbal Behavior" work, Barry Lowenkron from California State University has added to our understanding of an area not well covered by Skinner: how a listener comprehends what is said. Lowenkron goes to great pains to provide clear examples of his finding of what he calls "joint control", which is fully based on Skinner's own findings regarding tacts and self-echoics. It can take much longer to find the truth than make up a story, but the ignorance that supports cognitive fictions is being brushed aside to be replaced by behaviorist knowledge.

I return to this book off and on. (I wish I can study this book with someone who has mastered this material.) The only epiphany I have had in my life is/was when I read Chapter 2 of this book about two decades ago (and understood that Skinner was analyzing language utterances as law of effect conditioned behavior).

Simply a brilliant book. Most underrated,as people have pointed out.

I just reread Chapter 1. It only has 12 pages. However, the brilliance can clearly be seen. As is the difficulty. There are about 12 sentences (in these 12 pages) that I do not understand almost completely. (For instance, the one about speaker also being a listener.)

Added on 6/12/2004
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I happened to come across Chomsky's critique of Verbal Behavior online and started studying it closely, especially Section 3. I noticed several misunderstandings almost right away and started answering them, in a writeup. (I will post the details on these later.) On a lark, I sent a copy of this to Noam Chomsky, not expecting to receive a reply. I was surprised to get a reply. We exchanged several e-mails. However, Chomsky stubbornly refused to see my points. His answers were mostly non-sequiturs. Are may points valid? You be the judge when I get around to posting my two specific points. In the meantime, you may want to look at

http://www.sulekha.com/expressions/column.asp?cid=305940

Added on 12/25/2011
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I am rereading this book and the following thought occurred to me: In this book, Skinner proposes a whole new scheme for understanding language behavior, which effectively pushes aside centuries of traditional views. (If he is right, this is a major step forward. And I have no doubt that he is right.) Has this ever been done before? Did Darwin do it in his The Origin of Species? (This is not a trick question. I have not read it carefully.) I am trying to understand the hostility of people like Chomsky to this book, why they didn't give it the chance it richly deserves. I wonder whether the following is the more common scenario: somebody proposes a breakthrough idea or two, some people who buy into these start promoting these, and so on. Skinner is not diffident at all. (Darwin was. He held his book for a long time. Gould theorized that this was because Darwin's livelihood was from the church. Fortunately, Skinner's livelihood was NOT from prior incarnations of cognitive psychology :-)) When he started his PhD, he wrote to his parents that, if necessary, he was going to change the field to suit himself (or something like this). And this is what he did. I am wondering whether this one person pushing for all these major changes unabashedly is the reason for Chomsky's hostility. Chomsky has written that Skinner has no right define how psychology should be done.

This is not just an excellent book for those of us who are students of behavior; it is also an effect tool for those unfamiliar with the scientific principles of behavior analysis.

Dr. Skinner describes the different kinds verbal behavior, behavior that is reinforced as a result of the mediation of other people with similar repertories, produced by the contingencies of reinforcement on the one hand, and the way in which they are formed into effective verbal discourse and successful action on the other. Therefore, it is primarily with behavior of the former and latter that a behavioral understanding of what you are doing and saying is profited.

Dr. Skinner's approach to verbal behavior is derived from countless experiments in the analysis of behavior, experiments in which the principles of behavior have been rigorously studied, demonstrated, and verified. It is consequently not unnatural that finding it practicable and convenient, as undoubtedly it is, to verbal behavior is justifiable. Such a view obviously renders it easy to welcome behavior as an appropriate subject matter in its own right. Moreover, it is downright profitable to welcome behavior, which its first implication is the fact of objective and successful action!

Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990) was an American psychologist, social philosopher,and author. He was a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974, and perhaps the most influential behaviorist of the 20th century. His most famous books are Verbal Behavior, Beyond Freedom & Dignity and Walden Two.

Here are some representative quotations from the book:

"Even with respect to the individual speaker or listener, little use is made of specific experimental results ... No effort has been made to survey the relevant 'literature.' ... The present extension to verbal behavior is thus an exercise in interpretation rather than a quantitative extrapolation of rigorous experimental results." (Chap. 1)
"But how a word 'stands for' a thing or 'means' what the speaker intends to say or 'communicates' some condition of a thing to a listener has never been satisfactorily established." (Chap. 5)
"The result is simply the probability that the speaker will emit a response of a given form in the presence of a stimulus having specified properties ... So far as the speaker is concerned, this IS the relation of reference or meaning." (Chap. 5)
"(I)t is social reinforcement which leads the individual to know himself. It is only through the gradual growth of a verbal community that the individual becomes 'conscious.' He comes to see himself only as others see him, or at least as others insist that he see himself." (Chap. 5)
"The contingencies of reinforcement arising from the relations between speaker and listener also account for other distinctions in grammar, syntax, and the lay vocabulary." (Chap. 8)
"Verbal behavior is not always subjected to the review discussed in the last chapter. Some variables are too powerful to wait for editing. A response is 'blurted out.' ... If editing is to occur, the speaker must react as a listener to his own behavior." (Chap. 16)
"Nothing is gained, therefore, by identifying thinking with subaudible talking... The traditional view that an idea occurs first and that the speaker then expresses it in words had to be discarded... It was tempting to suppose that the speaker 'thought about what he was going to say' in the simple sense of saying it first to himself. But the covert response, if it occurs, is in no sense the cause of the overt. The full force of the expression of ideas cannot be carried by a mere sequence of covert and overt responses." (Chap. 19)
"There is no point at which it is profitable to draw a line distinguishing thinking from acting on this continuum. So far as we know, the events at the covert end have no special properties, observe no special laws, and can be credited with no special achievements." (Chap. 19)

Noam Chomsky's famous/infamous critique, "A Review of Skinner's Verbal Behavior," is available online (originally published in Language 35:26-58; also reprinted in Readings in the Psychology of Language.).

The book by B.F.Skinner was a big help to clarify his theory regarding Verbal Behavior. This VB Therapy is used for children with autism.
Verbal Behavior theory is being used in behavior analysis with great success. It is a therapy coordinated with Discrete Trial Training.
This is one of the methods used from Applied Behavior Analysis science.

Skinner isn't always easy to read but this books is worth reading. If you have questions about VB this is the place to be.

Book was in pretty good condition, considering its age. For content, you can't beat the old standards. Sister-in-law was thrilled to get it.

I'm sorry, but I have to take objection to the over-flowing praise for this book.

Skinner's book was totally decimated and much of the behaviourist theories with it by Chomsky's criticisms. Behaviourism has some merit in explaining elemental behavioural development, but falls apart in complex situations. Language is one of the most complex. Skinner's view presupposes that learning a language is entirely dependent on creating good habits. If you repeat a word, phrase, grammar rule enough times, you will learn it. (That in itself is highly debatable.) It became the starting point for Audiolingualism -- a theory of language learning which has since fallen very much out of favor since the 1980s development of communicative language teaching.

Anyways, the reality of audiolingualism was that even if it could impart the word, phrase or grammar rule -- it could not teach you how to use it. People are not machines. We are capable of creative thought which is the essence of Chomsky's criticism.

Noam Chomsky launched a "mentalist" critique that charged that behaviourism fails to account for the speaker's own ability to flexibly adapt the language using a finite set of rules.[...] To put it into layman's terms, it would be like expecting a laptop to compose the next great generational novel all by itself.