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Updated: Mar 15, 2026

Modeling Verbal Behavior Deficits with the Stimulus Control Ratio Equation, SCoRE
Published on: May 14, 2019
Using a Verbal Analysis of Lady Gaga's Applause as a Classroom Exercise for Teaching Verbal Behavior
Benjamin N Witts1, Icha Arief1, Emily Hutter1
1Department of Community Psychology, Counseling, and Family Therapy, St. Cloud State University, 720th Avenue, St. Cloud, MN 56301-4498 USA.
Abstract:
Learning Skinner's (1957) verbal behavior taxonomy requires extensive study and practice. Thus, novel classroom exercises might serve this goal. The present manuscript describes a classroom exercise in which two students analyzed Lady Gaga's song Applause in terms of its metaphorical arrangements. Through the exercise, students identified various verbal operants and their subtypes, including those seldom researched by the behavioral community (see Sautter and LeBlanc 2006, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 22, 35-48), which helped them conclude that Lady Gaga's Applause is comprised of two themes: the artist taking control, and the artist-as-art.
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