Watch MY Language

Ever since I have been in this field and learned more about Skinner’s (1957) Verbal Behavior I find myself analyzing written language and communication: catching any word or sentence that might function differently (i.e., have a different meaning or outcome) for someone else.  I am watching what I say and don’t say.  

There’s not much time (or space) to get into all the specifics of verbal behaviour in this post, but the key points to know from a behaviour analytic viewpoint are:

  • Verbal behaviour functions differently depending on the context before and after. Behaviour analysts are more interested in its function than its form. One word can function differently depending on this context.  Example: If I say “doughnut” I might be requesting a doughnut. This is called a mand.  I might be labeling one that I see. This is called a tact.  Or I might be answering someone’s question about what I like to eat.  This is known as an intraverbal.  All three examples I gave are three different functions of verbal behaviour using the same form, “doughnut”. It’s not obvious which function is at play unless you consider what is going on before and after.  
  • With verbal behaviour, there is both a “speaker” and a “listener” role for whom the behaviour has a different functional relationship. If I ask the question, “Where do you live?” I am manding.  The person hears my question and replies with “I live in Toronto”.  That is an intraverbal.

I want my verbal behaviour to function as effectively and efficiently as possible.  To accomplish that, I have adopted parsimony in what I say and write. I often plan and rehearse what I’m going to say before I go to say it. It takes me several read-overs of an email  - both before I press send and ones that I receive - so that I can take both the listener and speaker perspective.  I want to make sure I pause on having that knee-jerk reaction to what other may write or say to me.  I obsessively read and re-read emails, tweets, blog posts etc. looking for the function. 

The curse of being a behaviour analyst (in training) is that you.never.stop.thinking.about.this.stuff.  I may be efficient in what I say.  I just don’t know how efficient I am with my time.

Reference:

Skinner, B.F. (1957).  Verbal Behavior. Copley Publishing Group.

Related Posts:

And what words should I use?

The functions of a compliant

The R-word for example

(via @Behaviourbabe) B.F. Skinner may have been an original hipster.  People thought his ideas were too radical. They feared behaviour technology in the hands of the “wrong people” not recognizing that the technology was in our possession all along. We all influence behaviour in others, never mind our intent. Don’t you want to know more about how?  How you could impart change?   

(via @Behaviourbabe)

B.F. Skinner may have been an original hipster.  People thought his ideas were too radical. They feared behaviour technology in the hands of the “wrong people” not recognizing that the technology was in our possession all along.

We all influence behaviour in others, never mind our intent. Don’t you want to know more about how?  How you could impart change?   

Tell me your thought on contextual behaviorism (i.e. RFT) I am studying BA as well and I cannot wrap my brain around the radicalism and rigidity of Skinner's behaviorism.

Anonymous

Thank you for your question. It prompted me to check my notes on RFT as I have only minimal understanding of contextual behaviourism and where the science is going with it. To be honest, I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around contextual behaviourism as described in the literature; however, I think I subscribe to its basic premise philosophically - i.e., I don’t think Skinnerian behaviourism/behaviour analysis is the be all and end all of explanations and that human behaviour is far more complex than just a simple cause and effect relationship. That being said, I believe the principles of behaviour analysis are always in effect and that our understanding starts with a basic Antecedent-Behaviour-Consequence (A-B-C) analysis of what we can see or hear. I recognize that it does not end there and that the baton now gets passed onto contextual behaviourism to explain the other layers that may be present - thought, language, emotion, etc. that are also influential.

Extending upon the science of behaviour analysis to describe the complexities of language, cognition, culture and the “human condition” (Hayes, Barnes-Holmes & Wilson, 2012, p. 1) seems like the next level of analysis to dive into. However, I don’t think we necessarily throw out what B.F. Skinner had to say about human behaviour. Skinner’s radical behaviourism reminds us to be parsimonious when explaining human behaviour and the functional relationships that exist within our environment. It may seem very rigid but there still exists acknowledgement of learning history and the vast number of contingencies and their contexts that add to the complexity of their behaviours. Skinner (1953) said it himself:

Behavior is a difficult subject matter, not because it is inaccessible but because it is extremely complex. Since it is a process, rather than a thing, it cannot be held still for observation. It is changing, fluid, and evanescent… (p. 15).

There are details surrounding one’s behaviours that an applied behaviourist such as myself may fail to note or that which I can never go back far enough to trace. However the details we do see or hear - a functional analysis of sorts - is still, at best, a guess (though an educated and data informed one we hope!) We may never achieve the absolute true answer as to why we behave the way we do, but we can use the data we have to make predictions and guide effective interventions, changes to our environment. Contextual behaviourism (as I understand it) aims to add more details to deepen our understanding beyond a linear A-B-C analysis. For example, I could aim to “see” or understand all the different relations that exist with any stimulus and response I have noted in my practice (cf. Blackledge, 2003). This additional scope and depth can aid in our decision making. Since no ABA-based intervention is a guaranteed solution, knowledge gained from contextual behaviourism may improve our selecting the most effective intervention.

I think it is fascinating to apply a behaviourist lens to concepts inherent in the human condition. Concepts such as forgiveness, responsibility, respect, care etc., are all demonstrated by our actions - i.e., behaviours which have been conditioned. Part of why I blog about ABA in the context of everyday events is to put this lens on the concepts we take for granted as just being within ourselves. Like Skinner, I see everything as a behaviour and I try to offer this view point when I can - even if just philosophizing. I may evolve to be a contextual behaviourist after all!

References:

Blackledge, J.T. (2003). An introduction to the relational frame theory: Basic and applications. The Behavior Analyst Today, 3(4), 421-433.

Hayes, S.C., Barnes-Holmes, D. & Wilson, K.W. (2012). Contextual Behavior Science: Creating a science more adequate to the challenge of the human condition. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 1(1), 1-16.

Skinner, B.F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York, NY: The Free Press.

Hey I am studying psychology and writing an essay on Evaluating Skinner's operant conditioning and Bandura's social-cognitive theory, and which has made a bigger contribution on theories of personality. Personally I am more of a Bandura's person because he includes both cognition and behaviourism in his approach. I was wondering if you would have any views on the topic (since you're more pro-skinner) you'd like to share with me :) thanks!

bilk-zwang

Hi @bilk-zwang, I’d be happy to share my views on personality and the social learning theory in general. I am a Skinnerian but that does not mean that I think other psychology theorists are wrong or flawed. Often, we just interpret things differently or place more emphasis on different concepts than others.

Like Bandura, I think the social environment has a significant impact on our learning. People and their responses can either be an antecedent event or act as a consequence of our actions. For example, my behaviours at work in the presence of my colleagues differ from my behaviours when I am around close friends.  My behaviours differ even more when I am in out in public in the company of strangers. The presence of certain people in my environment acts as a cue to suggest ways in which I should behave and be successful. Most of my social behaviour repertoire (manners, social norms, behaving in moral ways etc.) have been shaped by my social environment.  I can either be accepted or excluded by others based on how I behave - i.e., others either reinforce my behaviours or they punish them.  We may learn the rules of engagement from others telling us how to behave. This is referred to as rule-governed behaviours. For many social norms we do not need to have experienced the usual punishment to avoid behaving in certain ways; rather, our behaviour is under the control of other’s verbal behaviour. For example: we have been told stealing is wrong or what would happen to us if we did steal, so most of us will not steal.

We also use the social cues in our environment to help us behave effectively in novel situations.  When I first moved to Toronto and had to learn the transit system here, I observed what others did.  Everyday subway riders modeled certain behaviours which I saw worked for them and so I behaved in similar ways.  My behaviours in turn worked as well and I became a successful transit user.  Had my experience been different - say I got bumped into a lot, I got lost or people yelled at me for doing something I wasn’t supposed to do - that might have been enough to punish my subway riding behaviours. I might have avoided riding the subway in the future.  I might have also told people about my horrible experience and the feelings associated with it.  When I speak of those feelings, it is easy to assume that I will not ride the subway again because of I how I felt (e.g. embarrassment, frustration) but those feelings came as a result of the consequences that occurred. Had I experienced a more favorable consequence, I might have felt feelings of happiness and thought I was successful.  The behaviourist view does not discount the occurrence of these thought or feelings – in fact, radical behaviourists think they are themselves behaviours – each with their own antecedents and consequences. Rather, we don’t think thoughts and feelings are the focus when changing a related behaviour (unless we want to indeed change the thought/feeling). If we can re-arrange the environment by adding more prompts, having reinforcement easily accessible, removing possible punishers, and/or teaching any alternative behaviours then perhaps the next attempt at riding the subway will go better.

With respect to personality - my challenge is what is a personality?  How do you operationally define a personality?  For me, it comes down to a set of behaviours that have been learned. The introvert behaves a certain way in comparison to the extrovert.  The person with a type A personality behaves differently than the person with Type B.  I believe (much like Skinner did) that we are all born with a certain capacity to find various stimuli reinforcing - both physical and social.  In other words, each of us has innate or neurological preferences for certain reinforcers: sensorial, tangible, social or otherwise.  However the physical and social environment still has to deliver reinforcers while at the same time be void of punishers. I will continue to use the extrovert vs. introvert as an example:

The so-called introvert may like a more low-key social experience and not find attention to be that reinforcing. Thus, they seek out environments that can provide that low-key experience while being free from too much attention on them.  This strengthens the introverted behaviours because it works at giving them a comfortable, pleasurable experience.  The so-called extrovert may very well find people and socializing highly reinforcing and seek out opportunities to gain attention. But if people repeatedly punish the extrovert’s attempts to socialize, get attention s/he will eventually learn to escape or avoid these situations. Their out-going behaviours have not worked, so they may then behave in ways that appear to be more introverted.

Many of our early experiences and the reactions, comments from others have shaped our personality. But this also means that our personality is not set in stone for us. Through some environmental/social engineering, behaviours associated with one personality type can evolve into another.  I was reserved and quiet as a child. You wouldn’t know it today based on my presence in front of a room of people when I give a presentation. I actually find delivering courses and workshops to be reinforcing. I enjoy engaging and discussing with workshop participants. But occasionally my shy behaviours come out when I am at a social gathering where I do not know many of the people in attendance.

There is a lot more to say about this topic and I could write on and on and on.  I hope I presented a clear picture of how a Skinnerian views personality and social learning. In your own research you may find it helpful to read Skinner’s About Behaviorism.  He attempts to explain the behaviourist view on such matters as personality, feelings and thinking.

Now that I’ve answered your question, I am curious to read your viewpoint and comparisons.  If you are comfortable with sharing a sample of your paper, I would love to read it – either published on your blog or shared privately. I have studied behaviourism intensively and can suffer from tunnel vision at times. I appreciate reading about other theories and point of views to balance with my own.

Resources:

Hayes, S.C.  (1989).  Rule-governed behavior: Cognition, contingencies, and instructional control. 

Skinner, B.F.  (1974).  About behaviorism.

Related Posts:

Multiple personalities - disorder or behaviours?

Feelings…nothing more than feelings

What we say and how has influence

“Fame is also won at the expense of others. Even the well-deserved honor of the scientist or man of learning are unfair to many persons of equal achievement who get none. When one man gets a place in the sun, others are put in the denser shade. From the point of view of the whole group, there’s no gain whatsoever and perhaps a loss. …If it points up the unexceptional achievements of others, it’s wrong. …A triumph over another man is never a laudable act.”

B.F. Skinner (from Walden Two, p. 169)

We are a society obsessed with winning, being the best and coming out on top.  From Olympic medal comparisons to the guy weaving in and out of lanes to get two cars ahead in a traffic jam, one would guess that the purpose of our work is to be first and win.  In doing so, we have little regard for the effects our behaviour(s) have on others - be it cheating, displacing another’s hard work or a simple “I’m better than you.”  In pursuing those awards or honours, we put people below us.  It also makes mistakes and errors something to be ashamed of; rather than seeing them as learning opportunities. 

In my practice of behaviour analysis there is no “best” or “better”; instead, there is function and efficiency. What we do either works or it doesn’t.  Its purpose should benefit the physical and social environment.  We throw a ball because of its action; whether it be to simply see the action itself or its delivery to another person in a game.  We may run because it feels good or because it gets us away from danger.  I drive because it gets me from point A to point B, not because it is a race.  I do my work because it helps others understand challenging behaviour and that people with disabilities can learn.  I do not need an award for doing my job when there are other people on my team doing just as great of work.  There is no need for a medal for me throwing a guy out at first, when the first baseman was also part of that success.

We are not alone in our accomplishments.  We accomplish what we need at a pace the environment has set up for us.  At the end of the day, what value or benefit does that medal, plaque or first-place ribbon have anyway?  

“Blaming B.F. Skinner for the behaviours of others is like blaming Newton when something falls on your head.”

When others attempt to make use of rewards or “punishment” and it goes wrong, why is Skinner blamed?  Please don’t shoot the messenger; rather, read what he actually had to say about behaviour analysis, reinforcement (not rewards) and punishment.  Understand that many people incorrectly apply behavioural strategies without engaging in proper analysis of the behaviour targeted for change.

Related posts:

Punishment isn’t Skinner’s doing

Reinforcement vs. reward - there is a difference

How not to do behaviour management

“

My son spent much of his first three years at school under a black cloud. I’m talking of course about a ’school behaviour system’, in other words, teachers trying to get children to do what they want them to do. Jamie would often not do what his teachers wanted him to do.

“…His name, along with the names of the other children in his class, was printed on to card and laminated and a piece of velcro was attached to the back. Three pictures were similarly printed; a sunshine, a sunshine poking out from behind a cloud and a black cloud. On the first day of the year, all the names were stuck on a felt covered board under the sunshine, because all children are good and the sunshine is a good place to be. If a child stepped out of line then their name would be moved underneath the sun and cloud. If they offended again, their name would then be moved under the black cloud. The black cloud is a bad place to be, it is cold and dark there. The child would then have to display some consistently good behaviour in order to be moved back towards the sunshine.

“….There were two names under the black cloud, my son’s and another little boys. Everyone else’s names were basking in the sunshine. After that I checked the board most days. The state of affairs mainly remained the same. Jamie came to school in the morning, four years old, full of joy and his name would be under the cloud, from the day before. At the end of the day it would normally not have made any progress towards better weather.

”

From ‘Under a Black Cloud – shame-based behaviour systems in schools’ (read full post here:  http://www.sallydonovan.net/2012/01/06/under-a-black-cloud-why-i-dont-like-shame-based-behaviour-systems-in-schools/ )

From an excellent blog by an adoptive mother of traumatised two children. I’ve lost a lot of the last two days reading through this blog, must read for educators. Gives a good idea of what’s going on with some of our students outside the classroom and what may have happened to the before they reached us. (I’m sure we’ve all met a Jamie)

GWALP adds:  Indeed, this was a good read.  Not all classroom/behavior management systems work for all students.  At the high school level, this type of public shaming is completely ineffective and often counterproductive.

____________________________________________________________________

Unfortunately, I see or read about too many of these “behaviour management systems” that are failing our students - especially those with special education needs.  It frustrates me that this is considered a behaviour management technique (like that’s a good thing) when I can see that a concept was (mis)applied by someone not up to date on behaviour change, behaviour analysis.  If a tool such as this is meant to function as punishment - it is working at punishing school attendance, co-operation and being ready to learn while doing very little to motivate a student to work with their teacher and learn skills.  Behind every challenging behaviour is a purpose and thus a missing skill on the part of the learner.  How does labeling one’s behaviour under the category of black cloud of shame promote learning and skill development?

Behaviour change is a process and will not occur with just a sticker chart or a sun/cloud picture (as if those hold relevance).  Shame and punishment-based systems teach students what to avoid and if teachers/EAs/support staff are associated with these system, the student ultimately avoids (or tries to escape from) them.

And finally, all of these poorly applied and mismanaged behaviour management systems give behaviourism (and ultimately B.F. Skinner) a bad rap.  I’m pretty sure Skinner never intended classroom management and learning to look like this; and neither do behaviourists like me.

(via girlwithalessonplan)