March 22, 2015

March 22, 2015

Written by Maximus Peperkamp, M.S. Verbal Engineer

Dear Reader, 

People ask what Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB) and Noxious Verbal Behavior (NVB) is and want to know how these two subsets of verbal behavior are defined. They ask for an antecedent, for what causes one or the other, in the hope this will give them better understanding of these responses. Although something can and must be said about how SVB and NVB are caused antecendently, the behavioral perspective, to which I adhere, analyzes behavior in context and looks at what follows, to what happens postcedently, so that predictions can be made about the likelihood of these behaviors under similar circumstances in the future. Consideration of a stimulus which sets the stage for a response, which is followed by a consequence, which makes this response more or less likely in the presence of that stimulus in the future, is called operant conditioning.

By looking at what happens as a consequence of SVB and NVB, that is, at the postcedent events, we realize that the proportion of SVB/NVB instances in a verbal episode predicts whether we are going to have more SVB and less NVB or less SVB and more NVB in the future. In other words, the SVB/NVB distinction becomes apparent after these responses have occurred. By having a verbal episode, by talking, we can begin to acknowledge and experience the consequences of instances of SVB and NVB. These consequences stand out to the extent that they are different from the consequences of our usual pattern of communication. This means, if we are used to more instances of SVB then NVB, then instances of NVB will stand out. Conversely, if we are used to more instances of NVB then SVB, then SVB instances will stand out. The communication experiences which are different from what we are familiar with are perceived as negative. Since we don’t like what we are not used to, we are not paying much attention to the consequences of how we talk, because, by doing so, we would become more aware, more conscious of what we don’t like.