A Benefit of Verbal Behavior (Mysteries of Living 62 of 72)

A Benefit of Verbal Behavior (Mysteries of Living 62 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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The topic of language as verbal behavior ranks as one of the most complex and sophisticated considerations in behaviorology. Even if we broke it down into parts that could stand alone, each part would still be far too long to be one of these columns. Later I will explain some resources with which you can cover this topic at whatever depth you prefer. Meanwhile, we need not know the details of language as verbal behavior to appreciate the beneficial discovery of “rule–governed” behavior that is based on verbal behavior.

Science Improves Teaching Non-Native Languages (Science Is Lovable 32 of 72)

Science Improves Teaching Non-Native Languages (Science Is Lovable 32 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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By focusing on improving access to the variables responsible for conditioning verbal behavior, language teachers can improve the conditioning of non–native language repertoires (i.e., “foreign” languages). Here we provide a few of the possibilities along these lines.

Putting Principles into Practice (Mysteries of Living 31 of 72)

Putting Principles into Practice (Mysteries of Living 31 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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Our understanding of why human behavior happens begins now to go in the additional direction of engineering applications and interventions. We want to know more than merely about why behavior happens, more than merely about what causes human behavior, more than merely about contingencies.

Behavior and Genes (Mysteries of Living 18 of 72)

Behavior and Genes (Mysteries of Living 18 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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When contingencies, usually educational contingencies, move people away from either theological or secular (like psychological) mystical accounts for behavior, many people maintain some presumption in scientifically connected genetic accounts of behavior. Even hopelessly simplistic genetic explanations, such as “she does that because she was born that way” or “he does that because it’s in his genes,” carry some aura of scientific authority through a generalization process from real science.

Examples and Styles (Mysteries of Living 3 of 72)

Examples and Styles (Mysteries of Living 3 of 72)

Stephen F. Ledoux
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Two considerations recur across these columns. These concern my examples and writing style. In early columns, or with basic principles and processes, simple human behaviors as well as an occasional non–human behavior provides the examples best illustrating some particular point, because behaviorology concerns all behavior. However, the realistic explanation of ordinary, which really means complex, human behavior remains our primary emphasis as we get into later columns.