Verbal behavior at a procedural level in the chimpanzee

Ape language research has typically employed cognitive descriptions of ape competencies. Recently, Epstein, Lanza, and Skinner (1980) attempted to simulate some of the ape findings with pigeons. They also used cognitive terms to describe their results, but with "tongue-in-cheek." In the hope of bringing about a better understanding of the ape research, this paper describes the main aspects of one ape language project, using a behavior-analytic framework. It then briefly compares and contrasts, from that perspective, the training programs used with pigeons and with apes. It is concluded that the behavior-analytic framework, and the procedures devised to produce language skills in apes, provide strong support for several of the major positions set forth in Skinner's (1957) Verbal Behavior.