-Original Message-
From: Mike Palij [mailto:m...@nyu.edu]
A behavioral account might be relevant to certain situations but are unlikely
in others (e.g., how would a behaviorist explain satire?).
-Mike Palij
New York University
m...@nyu.edu
--
I think, without discussing Skinner's specific take on it, a behaviorist would
study language, humor and satire in terms of the overt behavior produced and
the consequence it has. Using the framework of operant conditioning, a behavior
(either a bodily action or a verbalization) is produced in a particular
situation and it has a consequence. That consequence may act to reinforce the
behavior marked by an increase in the behavior in the future in similar
circumstances or to punish the behavior marked by a decrease in that behavior
in the future in those circumstances. Of course, many behaviors also occur
without consequence in certain situations and such behaviors are also less
likely to occur in the future.
This operant explanation of verbal behavior is easily seen in the behavior of
infants and young children in which case many verbalizations are obviously
shaped by their consequences to occur again or (if they are unsuccessful) not
to recur. It becomes more complicated as we get older but I have occasionally
asked my students to see their daily verbal behavior through a behavioral lens.
It isn't something you can keep up for long without becoming very
self-conscious about every word you say but what I suggest is that they examine
their utterances and the utterances of others throughout the day from a
behavioral framework. What consequence maintains these verbalizations? It is
easy in cases like please pass the salt but it becomes almost painfully
self-revelatory when you get to what you say to friends. The use of humor also
often has predictable consequences, given particular environmental situations,
which will clearly have an effect on the use of humor in these situations in
the future. Analyzing the use of humor in this way can be especially
dispiriting but is sometimes quite revealing (although, in some cases,
ignorance is bliss).
If you want to avoid painful self-realizations, you may also want to refrain
from thinking too deeply about what reinforces posts to TIPS.
Rick
Dr. Rick Froman, Chair
Division of Humanities and Social Sciences
Professor of Psychology
Box 3519
John Brown University
2000 W. University Siloam Springs, AR 72761
rfro...@jbu.edu
(479) 524-7295
http://bit.ly/DrFroman
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