Skinner's Behavioral Analysis Paper

Journal on Sinner’s Behavioral Analysis Part 2

Liberty University

09/23/2013
Abstract

This paper shall explore Skinner and his work on Behavioral Analysis. His work in this field has been influential in the world of Psychology and in this paper; aspects like his early research will be explored, to give insight on how Skinner came to his early ground breaking findings. Not only will his work will be looked at in the context of his contemporaries but the possible effects of Skinner’s work on today’s world shall also be taken into consideration. This will include how Skinner’s operant paradigm was the groundwork for research into infant behavior and development, how is work in verbal behavior may correlate
Gewirtz and Martha Pehlez-Nogueras team up to write an article for the American Psychologist, an article by the name of “B. F. Skinner 's Legacy to Human Infant Behavior and Development.” In this article, the two authors aim to depict Skinner’s contributions to research in Infant’s behavior as well as their development. The two connect Skinner’s work in behavioral analysis to others’ work in human infant behavior and development, and then attempt to explain why Skinner’s research has so much impact on the field of human infant behavior and development. The article begins with the small introductory paragraph, stating that Skinner’s legacy to the field of human infant behavior and development is due to “largely the practicality, the efficiency, and the comparative advantage of using the operant-learning paradigm” (Pehlez-Nogueras, 1992). The actual article begins with acknowledging Skinner’s contributions to the field of psychology, specifically his contribution “to delineate operationally the three-term contingency” (Pehlez-Nogueras, 1992). The authors credit Skinner with “facilitating the analysis of infant learning and development” (Pehlez-Nogueras,
The authors tackle Skinner’s verbal behavior first and define the specifics, like what Skinner defined as a verbal operant. The authors give examples of these concepts to give the reader a clearer picture of how these concepts appear in a real life application. The authors go on to talk about echoic behavior, textual behavior, the intraverbal, and the tact. At the same time, the authors give the relational frame theory spin on these concepts alongside the explanation of these concepts through Skinner’s work. The author wraps up the article with some tables, the conclusion, and the