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Antecedents and consequences of words
1University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).
The Analysis of Verbal Behavior
|April 6, 2012
Summary
Verbal behavior, or language, efficiently influences others by interacting with environments and other behaviors. Its function can become detached from reality due to social influences, impacting scientific and religious practices.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Psychology
- Linguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Words function as behaviors interacting with environments and each other.
- The interlocking nature of verbal contingencies can detach language from nonverbal realities.
- Social contingencies shape and maintain verbal behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the fundamental function of verbal behavior as a tool for behavioral change (verbal governance).
- To explore how verbal behavior, through replication and differential attention, becomes detached from environmental anchors.
- To differentiate the consequences of verbally governed behavior anchored to reality versus those independent of it.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of verbal behavior as a form of operant behavior.
- Examination of the role of social contingencies in shaping verbal repertoires.
- Conceptual framework integrating verbal governance, replication, differential attention, and verbal shaping.
Main Results:
- Verbal behavior's primary function is to alter the behavior of others (verbal governance).
- Replication, differential attention, and shaping lead to interlocking verbal contingencies, dominating behavior.
- Verbal behavior anchored to environmental events (science) differs significantly from that independent of it (religious fundamentalism).
Conclusions:
- Verbal behavior is a powerful, socially maintained system for influencing actions.
- The detachment of verbal behavior from environmental referents has profound, divergent consequences.
- Understanding these processes is crucial for distinguishing evidence-based practices from those based on unsupported beliefs.
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