April 12, 2015

April 12, 2015

Written by Maximus Peperkamp, M.S. Verbal Engineer

Dear Reader, 

 

Another successful seminar for the faculty of Butte College has taken place. Everybody stayed from beginning till end and they got it. When it was over, people were standing around talking about the seminar. They were clearly enjoying each other’s conversation. That is Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB).

The topic of the conference was “Social Responsibility”, but, we are, and I mean that literally, at best only just talking with ourselves. Full time faculty doesn’t care about the part time faculty. “Social Responsibility” is merely a catchy term, but the issue is, of course, the lack thereof, or rather the fact that we accept Noxious Verbal Behavior (NVB), which is not communication.

We are dealing with the fact that our vocal verbal behavior, which is a subset of verbal behavior, doesn’t get the reinforcement it requires. Simply stated, we all buy into the notion that what is written is more important than what is said. Although, at the end of the day we still need to talk with each other, conversation is made more and more impossible. It is possible, but only when the conditions to make it possible, such as this conference, are arranged. It is clear that we get this opportunity, to hold this conference, to make it seem as if we have been given something, but in reality, we are only tossed a few pieces of food and we remain hungry and eager.

The reason why people accept they are enslaved is because their behavior is elicited, not evoked. Another way of saying this is that they are and remain afraid. They want to keep their job and still hope somehow one day they will get full time employment. Only obedient slaves get full time employment and it is unlikely I will get it. However, my success with my students still makes me a good candidate.

My desire to become a full time faculty is not based on fear. To the contrary, my behavior is based on my knowledge about behaviorism, on my ability recognize and analyze aversive stimulation. I am not too overly busy trying to avoid or escape negative outcomes, that is not my cup of tea. I am interested in and propelled by the power of positive reinforcement. Stated differently, I am not interested in decreasing behavior, because I focus on increasing everyone’s SVB response. As SVB increases NVB will decrease. It will happen by itself and no one needs to do anything to decrease NVB. I am benefitted by this conference, which was visited by only a handful of part timers. They are not showing up, because they are not feeling reinforced.

  

I don’t mean to hurt anyone’s feelings, but all these so-called negotiations, all this so-called political organizing, is just more NVB. The issue is not whether we can increase “Social Responsibility.” The low turnout proves we can’t. The issue is whether we differentiate between SVB and NVB. We can and we did. Increase of SVB is based on our ability to discriminate between SVB and NVB. The conference was worth my while, because people have once again acknowledged the existence of this distinction.

An important aspect about verbal behavior is mediation of behavior by others. Our body mediates, or responds to, stimuli from inside and outside our skin. Walking to the building in which the conference is held, is a neuromuscular behavior. The question “Why do I walk to that building?” can have two answers. My behavior can be elicited or evoked. If I walk to that building, because I am frustrated about my status as a part time instructor, which means, I don’t have insurance and I don’t get paid for office hours and I am going to protest and demand my rights, then my behavior is elicited. If, on the other hand, on former conferences, I have enjoyed the interaction with my colleagues, because helping out and putting together the conference was great fun, made me feel validated and important, then my walking will be evoked. In the former, I have negative, in the latter, I have positive emotions. 

What I think or say to myself, while walking to that building, is also an elicited or an evoked behavior. Since it is witnessed by an audience of one, mediation of neural behavior occurs covertly. Unlike neuromuscular behavior, during my neural behavior there are no muscle contractions. During my neural behavior there are only neurons, bundles of neurons or cascades of neurons firing. Moreover, what I think or I feel is how my nervous system mediates my environment. There is no real difference between the environment and my neural behavior, which mediates my environment. The environment within my own skin is my neural behavior. In SVB, however, we become interested in the environment inside own skin, but in NVB, we remain preoccupied with the environment outside of our skin.