Experiments in Conditioning Operant Verbal Behavior

In general, the writer's interests lie in the application of the principles of learning theory to the prediction and modification of gross human behavior. It is difficult to overemphasize the role of speech in the formation, shaping, and modification of an individual's behavior, and in the past few years a steadily growing body of investigators have been experimenting directly on speech, treating it as in uncontrollable, supra-human phenomenon. Those who experiment in the area called verbal behavior generally follow Skinner's (45) operant conditioning procedures which entail using the free speech of the S as the dependent variable and the verbal and nonverbal behavior of the E as the independent variable or reinforces. By using his own behavior as cues for action, the E attempts to systematically modify the operant verbal performance of S.