October 15, 2014

October 15, 2014

Written by Maximus Peperkamp, M.S. Verbal Behaviorist

Dear Reader, 

 

Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB), which is voluntary behavior, can occur only as long as the verbalizer doesn’t elicit an aversive involuntary response in the mediator. When the verbalizer elicits an aversive response in the mediator, Noxious Verbal Behavior (NVB), which is respondent, involuntary behavior, will occur. Since NVB is more often reinforced than SVB, we have more NVB than SVB. This can be reversed, but this  will only happen when SVB is more reinforced than NVB. 

Another way of describing why NVB is more often reinforced than SVB is that human beings haven yet to become truly verbal. During NVB we are more often than we realize or willing to admit nonverbal. The harder the verbalizer tries to be verbal, the more aversive the nonverbal impact on the mediator will be. 

In SVB, the verbalizer doesn’t make any effort to be verbal and there is alignment between his or her verbal and nonverbal behavior. The ability of the verbalizer to be verbal derives from this alignment. During NVB there is no alignment between the verbal and nonverbal behavior of the verbalizer. Moreover, the nonverbal behavior of the NVB verbalizer is perceived as threatening by the mediator. No matter what is said verbally, when the nonverbal behavior of the verbalizer turns off the mediator, the mediator stops mediating the verbal behavior of the verbalizer. During NVB, the mediator is not really mediating the verbal behavior of the verbalizer. During NVB, the mediator mediates the threatening, hostile, overwhelming, negative and mean nonverbal behavior of the verbalizer. 

During SVB, both the verbal and the nonverbal behavior of the verbalizer are mediated effortlessly and simultaneously by the mediator. The turn-taking, which happens in SVB, changes a mediator into a verbalizer and a verbalizer into a mediator. The new verbalizer has the same effect on the mediator as the old verbalizer. The new mediator also mediates the verbal and the nonverbal behavior of the verbalizer simultaneously and effortlessly. Once this kind of communication happens it is apparent to all the communicators that something completely new is taking place which during NVB was impossible. OUr access to language is possible due to SVB, but is prevented by NVB.