The Functional Independence of Skinner's Verbal Operants: Conceptual and Applied Implications

Much has been said about B. F. Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior. This commentary specifically focuses on the functional independence of B. F. Skinner's verbal operants. While researchers have long been interested in this topic, the research literature on this topic has produced mixed results; it has shown that the verbal operants may be both functionally independent and functionally interdependent. This commentary considers the conceptual and applied implications of these mixed findings. The distinction between constructs and events is highlighted, with specific attention to how this distinction relates to the consideration of the verbal operants in behavior analysis. The value of further research on the functional independence of the verbal operants is considered, as well as the type of research studies that might be useful toward developing interventions for individuals with language delays. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploratory Factor Analysis of the VB-MAPP: Support for the Interdependency of Elementary Verbal Operants

Journal of Behavioral Education - Competing viewpoints on the independency or interdependency of Skinner’s verbal operants have been discussed in the literature and with empirical support for...     

Analysis of the Acquisition of Verbal Operants in a Child from 17 Months to 2 Years of Age

The Psychological Record - The purpose of this study was to longitudinally investigate the acquisition of verbal operants in a typically developing child from 17 months to 2 years of age. Verbal...     

The Application of Mastery Criterion to Individual Operants and the Effects on Acquisition and Maintenance of Responses

Instructors assess the acquisition of new skills by delivering blocks of trials containing multiple operants. Mastery is evaluated as percentage correct across all operants in the block. The purpose of the current study was to investigate this traditional mastery criterion arrangement compared to an analysis of mastery at the level of individual operants. In both conditions, mastery criterion was 100% accuracy in one session. In the Set Analysis (SA) condition, accuracy was evaluated as average correct responding across all 4 target operants, or sight words, in a set. In the Operant Analysis (OA) condition, we taught 4 sight words simultaneously, assessed accuracy per sight word, and substituted new sight words into the set each time a single sight word was mastered. Overall, all 4 participants learned textual responses to sight words quicker in the OA condition, the reliability of maintenance was similar across conditions for 2 of 4 participants, and 4 of 4 participants maintained a higher or same number of responses from the OA condition compared to the SA condition. Implications for skill acquisition are discussed.

     

Operants Were Never "Emitted," Feeling Is Doing, And Learning Takes Only One Trial: A Review Of B. F. Skinner's Recent Issues In The Analysis Of Behavior

This final collection of Skinner's papers was intended for the professional, although other readers will find much of interest. The first five chapters are devoted to what Skinner called “theoretical issues” and include clear presentations of his positions on “feelings” and on the “self” as an apparent agent of volition. Skinner skillfully discusses thinking, the origins of cognitive-mediational theories, and a favorite topic: the similarity of processes occurring in the histories of species and of individuals. The next four chapters cover what he called “professional issues,” including the often-misunderstood philosophy known as radical behaviorism as well as the operant aspects of behavior therapy and attempts to influence educational practices. He seemed disappointed in the lack of acceptance of programmed learning methods and pessimistic about the possibility of improving education practices. This pessimism was evident in the final section, “personal issues,” in which he expressed doubt that the powerful and self-serving forces of government, business, and religion will ever permit the changes that could be wrought by the application of behavior analysis to the great problems of society. Two other chapters in the last section will be useful to historians who are curious about the influence of logical positivism on Skinner's thinking (apparently there was not much influence) and to sophisticated readers who are interested in Skinner's retrospective consideration of his work.