An Introduction to Skinner's Verbal Behavior, Part 2 Class 6 belongs in serious BCBA study because it shapes whether behavior-analytic decisions stay useful once they leave a clean training example and enter language assessment, teaching sessions, caregiver coaching, and natural communication routines. In An Introduction to Skinner's Verbal Behavior, Part 2 Class 6, for this course, the practical stakes show up in clearer case conceptualization, better instructional targets, and stronger generalization, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via The Verbal Behavior Conference
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Join Free →Skinner's book, Verbal Behavior, which he called his most important work, is dense and often obtuse. As such, it is difficult to read for even the most well-trained behavior analyst. The book is also a tour de force of behavior analytic theory and, as such, an exercise in parsimony, explaining as it does a complex subject matter with a few experimentally derived principles. As Skinner wrote, "The emphasis is upon an orderly arrangement of well-known facts, in accordance with a formulation of behavior derived from an experimental analysis of a more rigorous sort." After I presented at the VBC in 2021, I realized that many BCBAs may not have had the luxury of taking a course on Verbal Behavior in their graduate program. Therefore, the purpose of this abbreviated course is to cover the main points of the first 10 chapters of the book. In Spring of 2022, we covered Chapters 1-5. This Fall we will tackle Chapters 6-11 for sure and try to at least get to Chapter 12. The target audience is BCBAs and other practitioners. The goal of the course is for attendees to understand and appreciate the parsimony of Skinner's behavior-analytic theory of language and its potential technological applications. As Skinner said, "The formulation is inherently practical and suggests immediate technological applications at almost every step." If you have already taken a course on Skinner's book, then this course should serve as a refresher. If you haven't, this course will introduce you to the main concepts in Chapters 1-10. Either way, taking this course should benefit those who attend upcoming VBCs by providing a solid foundation for the theoretical and experimental talks.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 2 | General |
Henry D. (Hank) Schlinger Jr. received his Ph.D. in psychology (applied behavior analysis) from Western Michigan University (WMU) under the supervision of Jack Michael. He then completed a two-year National Institutes of Health-funded post-doctoral fellowship in behavioral pharmacology also at WMU with Alan Poling. Dr. Schlinger was a full tenured professor of psychology at Western New England University in Springfield, MA, before moving to Los Angeles in 1998. He is now professor of psychology and current director of the ABA Specialization Option and BCaBA course sequence, and former director of the M. S. Program in Applied Behavior Analysis in the Department of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles. Dr. Schlinger has published approximately 100 scholarly articles, chapters, commentaries, and book reviews in more than 35 different journals and books. He also has authored or co-authored four books, Psychology: A Behavioral Overview (1990), A Behavior Analytic View of Child Development (1995/2024) (which has been translated into Japanese), Introduction to Scientific Psychology (1998), and, most recently, How to Build Good Behavior and Self-Esteem in Children (2021) (which has been translated into Italian). He is past editor of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior and The Behavior Analyst (now Perspectives on Behavior Science) and sits on the editorial boards of several other journals. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies and on the Advisory Board of The B. F. Skinner Foundation and The Venus Project (https://www.resourcebasedeconomy.org/advisory-board/). Dr. Schlinger received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Psychology at Western Michigan University in 2012, and the Jack Michael Award for Outstanding Contributions in Verbal Behavior from the Verbal Behavior Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavior Analysis International in 2015.Hank is also an accomplished song writer and guitarist, whose album, One More Invention, can be found on Spotify. He is also a reviewer of classical music concerts and recordings, and his reviews can be found at Culturespotla.com
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
223 research articles with practitioner takeaways
200 research articles with practitioner takeaways
200 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.