Experiments in Conditioning Operant Verbal Behavior

Author

Edwin O. Timmons, University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Date of Award

6-1959

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Psychology

Major Professor

W. O. Jenkins

Committee Members

Gerald R. Pascal, Raymond R. Shrader, James M. Porter, Merritt H. Moore, William E. Cole

Abstract

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.

Recommended Citation

Timmons, Edwin O., "Experiments in Conditioning Operant Verbal Behavior. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1959.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2971