Current Status and Future Directions of Operant Research on Verbal Behavior: Baselines

As a member of the incoming editorial team, I have been asked to speak to the future of verbal behavior research and of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, considering questions about the direction of the field, the future path of the journal, and the message I would have for the next generation of researchers. In considering these questions, I propose that we ground strategic decision-making processes in values of collaboration and inclusivity, toward valued outcomes that include diversity and innovation, which I see as necessary for improving both practice and conceptual understanding, the traditionally stated aims of this community.

Section: Innovationmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Collaborationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Future of Verbal Behavior: Collaboration and Inclusivity

Ming

2018

“…manuscripts that highlighted complex verbal relations and to "use TAVB as a vehicle for the publication of innovative methodologies, new conceptual analyses, and critical reviews that could establish new lines of inquiry" (p. 1). This sentiment has been shared by others (Knapp, 1998) and continues to be something we will continue to strive for. In fact, one of the first initiatives of the current editorial team was to revise TAVB's mission statement in order to encourage the diversity of thought and research in our field.…”

mentioning

confidence: 78%

The Future of Verbal Behavior: Together Is Better

Rosales

2018

Prior editorials have addressed the question "Where do we go from here?" This is a reasonable query as an incoming editorial team considers new perspectives and initiatives that may further benefit the journal. I will address two important highlights of the revised mission statement of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior aimed at actively encouraging diversity of thought in publications and focusing on narrowing the gap between applied research and practice.

“…Although Skinner's work on verbal behavior has been expertly discussed (Knapp, 1980(Knapp, , 1998Lee 1984;Leigland, 1997;Michael, 1984), 3 it is generally recognized following Skinner's own words (Skinner, 1979b(Skinner, , 1983 that the publication of Verbal Behavior (Skinner, 1957) was the result of a long process of elaboration, and that this process deserves analysis. There are different possibilities for the study of Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior or, in this case, of meaning.…”

Section: Methods Of Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Meaning and Verbal Behavior in Skinner’s Work from 1934 to 1957

Andery

Micheletto

Sério

2005

This paper explores the historical development of Skinner's treatment of meaning from 1930 to 1957. Twelve papers published between 1934 and 1957, and parts of The Behavior of Organisms and Science and Human Behavior related to verbal behavior, were analyzed. Before 1945 meaning was taken as a property of the verbal response, and from 1945 on, meaning was supposed to be found among the determiners of a verbal response. We argue that these different conceptions of meaning were related to distinct aspects of Skinner's explanatory system. Finally, the notion of meaning presented by Skinner in 1945 is related to the theoretical breakthrough represented by Skinner's assertion of the three-term contingency. This idea permitted verbal behavior to be analyzed in terms of its functions.