October 13, 2014

October 13, 2014

Written by Maximus Peperkamp, M.S. Verbal Behaviorist

Dear Reader, 

This writer received an appreciative email from the Romanian linguist Cristinel Munteanu, who would like to skype with him. Because he feels reinforced for his writings, this writer immediately feels he wants to write more. Although he was writing something yesterday, he didn’t feel how he feels today and this writing is under stimulus control of the email he just received and in anticipation of the conversation he is going to have with Cristinel.  Because his English is not that good, Cristinel hopes the conversation will help and stimulate him to get better at it. Moreover, he made a special remark about talking with this writer “beyond the exchange of scientific ideas.” This writer looks forward to talking with him. 

This writer was reading about concurrent contingencies in Ledoux’s “Running Out Of Time” (2014). Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB) and Noxious Verbal Behavior (NVB) are under control of multiple, concurrent contingencies. SVB and NVB can be under control of different contingencies at different times. Such contingencies may be alternating or, confusingly, occurring simultaneously. One contingency may enhance, duplicate or bring about the effects of another contingency or may work against another contingency or other contingencies. 

One contingency working against another is pertinent to SVB and NVB. Presence of one contingency signifies the absence of the contingency for the other. During SVB, due to the contingencies, only SVB is possible, but during NVB, due to other contingencies, only NVB is possible. SVB happens in the absence of NVB and visa versa. It is not well known that SVB prevents NVB. What most people are familiar with is that NVB prevents and works against SVB. While NVB is ubiquitous and usually prevents SVB, SVB ultimately cannot be prevented by NVB. SVB is at best suppressed by NVB, but it cannot be prevented. SVB is as necessary as sleep, we can have less of it, but this has many negative consequences. SVB prevents NVB not by suppressing it but by exploring and understanding it. SVB or, rather, the evolution of (operant) verbal behavior, has made NVB into a behavioral vestige.