Verbal Behavior Ch 9-10

Question 1

Know the “two facts that emerge from our survey of the basic functional relations in verbal behavior.”

Answer 1

The strength of a single response may be, and usually is, a function of more than one variable.
b. A single variable usually affects more than one response.

Question 2

what “The same thing may be said in different ways,” refers to. The same word used in different ways can be paraphrased to

Answer 2

“The same thing” refers to a common set of variables and “several ways” to a thematic group of responses. the same response in different types of operants

Question 3

The Audience: A type of controlling variable with the following features

Answer 3

The audience is usually a listener in the presence of whom verbal behavior is typically reinforced.
It controls a group of response forms

Question 4

Know what Skinner meant by “separate sources of strength are additive,” and that “Since some variables reduce the strength of verbal behavior, the addition must be algebraic.”

Answer 4

For any given organism in any given setting there are multiple variables. Consequent variables are reinforcement, punishment, and extinction. If they are all present at the same time for the same organism in the same setting then there must be an algebraic equation (there must be an additive effect). If it’s just reinforcement then we can predict that behavior will increase. But if we add punishment and extinction in the same setting, then it’s safe to predict that behavior will not occur as high of a level. The level it will occur at depends on the relative value of those different consequences. Probability of the response given the different variables that effect the strength of the response, some of them reduce the strength, some increase it, and some provide a combination of both

Question 5

Be able to list the three types of multiple control or causation Skinner describes.

Answer 5

1. Communities which establish the reinforcing contingencies of the so called “language”.
2. Special audience that controls many jargons, patois, cants, and technical vocabularies.
3. Controls a subject matter.

Question 6

(3) types of multiple control or effects exerted by different audiences

Answer 6

1. A large group of responses has a greater strength in the presence of a particular audience, and some member of that group has a greater strength in the presence of a given object.
2. A tact under the control of a particular stimulus which also achieves a special effect upon the listener has a heightened probability of emission.
3. Functional relations, established separately, combine possibly for the first time upon a given occasion

Question 7

Double tact

Answer 7

In the cartoon Rocky and Bullwinkle, one of the villains is “Snidely Whiplash.” This is an easy name to remember, first as a proper tact (because of reinforcement history for emitting the name in his presence on the screen) and as a metaphorical extension evoked by his evil, hurtful, and devilish ways. Make like a drum and beat it

Question 8

Mixed intraverbal

Answer 8

are responses evoked by verbal stimuli that are mixed and evoked only because earlier contingencies have established that response, such as in remembering a proper name because you have a response in the form of the common name has been established. My address number has always been 426 and when asked to choose a dorm room I chose 426 for its ease of learning.

Question 9

Know what Skinner meant by “Negative consequences are perhaps more effective in determining the choice of otherwise synonymous forms,” especially regarding what a euphemism is.

Answer 9

1. Since mere difficulty of execution is an inherent punishment, the short response is preferred to the long (extra-if you have two synonymous forms but one is shorter and one is longer, the one that’s longer is inherently more punishing, so you go for the short one).
2. (speaking concretely) The concrete may be preferred to the abstract
3. behavior which is automatically punishing may simply be “forgotten”
4. the other form is also to some extent punishing when the speaker uses a “euphemistic” expression.
   Euphemism: A single variable may affect more than one response. With the use of a euphemism the subject matter of death may affect more than one response (e.g., passing away, friendly fire etc.).

Question 10

Know, again, what the engineering task is.

Answer 10

Suppose we accept the engineering task of evoking a given response in a given speaker at a given time [ by engineering task Skinner means setup up the contingencies]

Question 11

Know when a supplementary stimulus is a prompt and when it is a probe

Answer 11

The process of supplementary evocation may be classified in the following way. When the operator can identify the response to be evoked the supplementary stimulus is a prompt. When the operator does not know the response even though it may be just as sharply specified by other circumstances the supplement is a probe. The 4 possibilities are formal prompts, thematic prompts, formal probes, and thematic probes

Question 12

A supplementary stimulus

Answer 12

A supplementary stimulus is a prompt when the operator can identify the response to be evoked. It is a probe when the operator does not know the response to be evoked even though it may be just as sharply specified by other circumstances.

Question 13

She sells sea shells by the sea shore.

Answer 13

he secondary source is the formal (echoic or copying a text) relationship between the s’s in the first four words and the s’s in “sea shore.” The formal source of control is clearly over only a part of the response being analyzed.

Question 14

Multiple causation has three types

Answer 14

; first is the response can be under the control of more than one antecedent variable, second there can be multiple antecedents that can come together to control a response, and third is that a single antecedent can come together to control aresponse.

Question 15

In verbal behavior

Answer 15

a supplementary stimulus is talked about; a supplementary stimulus is any variable that is not generally sufficient to occasion a response but, when combined with the effects of others stimulus conditions, is enough to occasion a response.

Question 16

According to Skinner “the techniques of control which use multiple causation are applicable

Answer 16

whenever we wish to evoke behavior already existing in some strength” (Skinner, page 254).

Question 17

Know the kinds of formal and thematic prompts.

Answer 17

Formal prompts- Point to point correspondence between the stimulus and response product. The operator can identify the response to be evoked (Echoic and Textual)

Formal probes- Point to point correspondence between the stimulus and response product and the operator does not know the response to be evoked (Echoic and Textual)

Thematic prompts- No point to point correspondence, the operator can identify the response to be evoked. (Tact and Intraveral)

Thematic probe- No point to point correspondence, the operator does not know the response to be evoked. (Tact and Intraverbal

Question 18

Know all the ways a listener may be said to understand a speaker.

Answer 18

1. The behavior may be a conditioned emotional response
   Ex. Racy remark and a person blushes. Because she blushed it can be said she “understands”- some response was evoked by the response.
2. The listener understands to the extent that he/she tends to act appropriately.
   Ex. Schlingers cat example. He says max come here and he comes then he is said to “understand”.
3. (Instruction). He understands to the extent that his future behavior shows appropriate change.
   Ex. His son ate hot oatmeal and schinger said “that’s hot” and in the future his son’s behavior changed as a result of that instruction- behavior change occurs in the absence of any direct operant conditioning.