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| Current Topics in Verbal Behavior |
| Sunday, May 30, 2004 |
| 1:30 PM–2:50 PM |
| Republic A |
| Area: VBC |
| Chair: Maria de Lourdes Passos (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro) |
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| Effects of Verbalization of Contingencies on the Emergency of New Conditional Relations and Rules |
| Domain: Applied Research |
| ALVARO TORRES CHAVEZ (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) |
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| Abstract: A conditional discrimination of the subjects-own-behavior task was used in order to analyze the effects of (a) the prior training in verbalization and identification of contingencies and (b) the simultaneous verbalization of contingencies, on the formation of emerging relations. With that purpose, 40 undergraduate students were assigned to four groups: 1) control group, no previous training and no simultaneous verbalization, 2) group with prior training but no simultaneous verbalization, 3) group without prior training but with simultaneous verbalization, and 4) group with prior training and simultaneous verbalization. The group average of trials required for each group to complete the conditional discrimination task was compared, as well as the average of emerging relations achieved for each group. ANOVA’S tests indicated that the concurrent verbalization of the contingencies in the conditional discrimination task is the most important factor for completing the task and for the formation of functionally equivalent emerging relations. |
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| Emergent Verbal Behavior and Analogy: Skinnerian and Linguistics’ Approaches |
| Domain: Applied Research |
| MARIA DE LOURDES PASSOS (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro), Maria José Matos de Souza Suza (University of Sao Paulo) |
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| Abstract: The production of a verbal operant, not previously taught, is one of the most important aspects of language productivity. Skinner describes the emission of new mands, tacts and autoclitics as the result of recombination of verbal operants already in existence on a given repertoire, some of which necessarily share common elements. The relation between these mands, tacts and autoclitics is what linguists call “analogy”. Analogy is a grammatical pattern -either a morphological or a syntactical one-, on which bases a speaker might emit new linguistic forms, if such speaker knows the constituents of linguistic forms and the combination patterns. Ever since Classical Antiquity analogy has had an important role in Linguistics’ explanation and descriptions of verbal communities practices. It has been considered the Regularity Principle which characterizes any given language. It is the process behind the workings of creativity, one which explains new linguistic forms arising both on speakers’ individual repertoires and on the language changes of a verbal community. Research on the analysis of verbal behavior would greatly profit from such analysis and descriptions, specially by those about the constituents of linguistic forms and its combination patterns since they allow for the emergence of analogies. |
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| Tokieda's Language Process Theory and Skinner's Theory of Verbal Behavior |
| Domain: Applied Research |
| MASAYA SATO (Teikyo University) |
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| Abstract: A Japanese linguist Motoki Tokieda proposed language process theory in 1941. According to this theory, language is not a system of signs but a kind of human activities. In this paper, I will discuss the similarities and differences between Tokieda's language process theory and Skinner's theory of verbal behavior. Tokieda's distinction between si and ji that corresponds Skinner's distinction between primary verbal operant and autoclitic shows a striking similarity. |
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