Synopsis:
ABOUT THE BOOK: In 1934, at the age of 30, B. F. Skinner found himself at a dinner sitting next to Professor Alfred North Whitehead. Never one to lose an opportunity to promote behaviorism, Skinner expounded its main tenets to the distinguished philosopher. Whitehead acknowledged that science might account for most of human behavior but he would not include verbal behavior. He ended the discussion with a challenge: "Let me see you," he said, "account for my behaviour as I sit here saying, 'No black scorpion is falling upon this table.'" The next morning Skinner began this book. It took him over twenty years to complete. The book extends the laboratory-based principles of selection by consequences to account for what people say, write, gesture, and think. Skinner argues that verbal behavior requires a separate analysis because it does not operate on the environment directly, but rather through the behavior of other people in a verbal community. He illustrates his thesis with examples from literature, the arts, and the sciences, as well as from his own verbal behavior and that of his colleagues and children. Perhaps it is because this theoretical work provides a way to approach that most human of human behavior that Skinner often called Verbal Behavior his most important work. Published originally in 1957. Reprinted by the B. F. Skinner Foundation in 1992 and 2002. This book is from the Official B. F. Skinner Foundation Reprint Series (paperback edition).
About the Author:
The B. F. Skinner Foundation is the Primary Resource for Information About B. F. Skinner and His Heritage. Established in 1988, the B. F. Skinner Foundation promotes the science founded by B. F. Skinner and supports the practices derived from that science. The Foundation advances the understanding that a more humane world is achieved by replacing coercive techniques with positive procedures. We connect scholars, students, and the general public through our magazine, Operants. The Foundation's online and physical archives have a wealth of material from Skinner's literary estate, from donations by his colleagues and students, and by family members. The Foundation promotes the new research and continues to maintain contact with professionals and students worldwide who are former students, or colleagues of B. F. Skinner or individuals interested in his work. The Foundation is also the prime contact for permissions for reproducing Skinner material or for translations of Skinner s works. This book is sold by Copley Custom Textbooks, an imprint of XanEdu Publishing, Inc. which operates in partnership with The B. F. Skinner Foundation.
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