verbal behavior

An interactive, multimedia tutorial that will help you master the key concepts, terms, and approach of B.F. Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior and language

Read the following article and pass a 7-question quiz on it:

Ingvarsson, E. T., & Hollobaugh, T. (2010). Acquisition of intraverbal behavior: Teaching children with autism to mand for answers to questions. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 43(1), 1-17.

In 1957, B.F. Skinner published the book Verbal Behavior. In 1959, a young linguist named Noam Chomsky published a review of that book that sharply criticized Skinner’s behaviorism in general and his behavioral approach to language acquisition in particular. The debate between the pragmatism of Skinner and the structuralism of Chomsky continues to this day. Now hear directly from both men, in a series of archival interviews and speeches spanning several decades, as they address the philosophical and practical differences between their approaches.

Read the following article and pass an 8-question quiz on it:

Barnes-Holmes, D., Barnes-Holmes, Y., & Cullinan, V. (2000). Relational frame theory and Skinner’s Verbal Behavior: A possible synthesis. The Behavior Analyst, 23(1), 69-84.

Read the following article and pass a 13-question quiz on it:

Hayes, S. C., Gifford, E. V., & Hayes, G. J. (1998). Moral behavior and the development of verbal regulation. The Behavior Analyst, 21(2), 253-279.

Read the following article and pass a 6-question quiz on it:

Murphy, C., Barnes-Holmes, D., & Barnes-Holmes, Y. (2005). Derived manding in children with autism: Synthesizing Skinner’s Verbal Behavior with relational frame theory. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 38(4), 445-462.

Read the following article and pass a 9-question quiz on it:

Barron, B. F., Verkuylen, L., Belisle, J., Paliliunas, D., & Dixon, M. R. (2019). Teaching “then-later” and “here-there” relations to children with autism: An evaluation of single reversals and transformation of stimulus function. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12, 167-175.

Read the following article and pass a 10-question quiz on it:

Cengher, M., & Fienup, D. M. (2020). Presession attention affects the acquisition of tacts and intraverbals. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53, 1742-1767.

Begin exploring the differences and similarities between B.F. Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior (VB) and relational frame theory (RFT) with this collection of article quizzes. You will learn how RFT extends Skinner’s interpretation of metaphor, an approach to synthesizing both RFT and Skinner’s VB, and an overview of what RFT is and why it has been controversial in behavior analysis. This focus pack includes three quizzes based on these articles and a final, integrative quiz that encourages comparison and synthesis.

In 2001, the first book-length treatment of relational frame theory (RFT) was published. It spawned several reviews and critiques in behavior-analytic journals, including prominent ones by Mark Galizio and David Palmer. Two of the lead authors of the RFT book (Steve Hayes and Dermot Barnes-Holmes) published a response to those critiques. Then, in 2011, Jack Michael, David Palmer, and Mark Sundberg published an article on multiple control, which they assert can account for derived relations and naming. In this focus pack, you will read all of these articles to gain a better understanding of the advanced topics surrounding the analysis of complex human behavior.

Read the following article (reading time: 31 min) and pass a 5-question quiz on it:

Fox, E. J., & VanStelle, S. E. (2010). The impact of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior on Organizational Behavior Management. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 30, 70-81. https://doi.org/10.1080/01608060903529772

Read the following article (reading time: 1 hr 46 min) and pass a 10-question quiz on it:

Michael, J., Palmer, D.C., & Sundberg, M.L. (2011). The multiple control of verbal behavior. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 27 (1), 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03393089

Read the following article (reading time: 42 min) and pass an 8-question quiz on it:

Stewart, I. & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2001). Understanding metaphor: A relational frame perspective. The Behavior Analyst, 24 (2), 191-199. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392030

Read the following article (reading time: 56 min) and pass an 8-question quiz on it:

Gross, A. C., & Fox, E. J. (2009). Relational frame theory: An overview of the controversy. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 25 (1), 87-98. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03393073

Read the following article (reading time: 34 min) and pass an 5-question quiz on it:

Spencer, S. D., King, H. C., Marone, L., & Houlihan, D. (2022). Countercontrol: A relational frame theory (RFT) account and revival of a 70-year-old skinnerian term. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 45 (2), 457- 467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40614-022-00337-y

Read the following article (reading time: 1 hr 4 min) and pass a 6-question quiz on it:

Hayes, S.C., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2004). Relational operants: Processes and implications: A response to Palmer’s review of relational frame theory. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 82 (2), 213- 224. https://doi.org/10.1901/jeab.2004.82-213.

Read the following article (reading time: 1 hr 44 min) and pass a 10-question quiz on it:

Palmer, D.C. (2004). Data in search of a principle [Review of the book Relational frame theory: A post-Skinnerian account of human language and cognition by S.C. Hayes, D. Barnes-Holmes, B. Roche. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 81 (2), 189-204. https://doi.org/10.1901/jeab.2004.81-189.

Read the following article (reading time: 58 min) and pass a 6-question quiz on it:

Galizio, M. (2003). The abstracted operant: A review of the book Relational frame theory: A post-Skinnerian account of human language and cognition by S. C. Hayes, D. Barnes-Holmes, B. Roche. The Behavior Analyst, 26 (1), 159-169. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392074