March 5, 2015

March 5, 2015

Written by Maximus Peperkamp, M.S. Behavioral Engineer

Dear Reader, 

 

Our overt verbal behavior depends on the presence of an audience.  The verbalizer’s verbal behavior is controlled by mediators and only makes sense in context of the kind of mediators that mediate how and what he verbalizer verbalizes. Although they are coerced into it by the verbalizer, the vast majority of mediators reinforce the verbalizer who aversively controls their behavior. That very few mediators reinforce the verbalizer who controls the behavior of the mediator with positive reinforcement, is because only a few mediators have been conditioned to do this. In NVB everything looks like a nail because our only only tool is a hammer. 

The reality is that most of us have been conditioned to behave more NVB repertoire than Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB) repertoire. How else can we explain the obvious fact that in most of our vocal verbal behavior we try to dominate, exploit, manipulate, distract, alienate, intimidate and dis-regulate each other? Only during SVB do we co-regulate each other.

Only during SVB do we and can we bi-directionally reinforce each other, because only in SVB do we take turns. In other words, only in SVB is the mediator stimulated and given the opportunity, by the verbalizer, to also become the verbalizer. Moreover, only in SVB is the verbalizer stimulated by the mediator, after he or she has become a verbalizer, to be and  perhaps even to remain a mediator. Those who do all the talking during NVB, talk less in SVB, but those who talk very little or not at all in NVB, talk a lot in SVB. NVB is mechanical, predetermined and repetitive, because there is no turn-taking. The dependent variable, an episode of vocal verbal behavior, is caused by the dependent variables, how we sound, that is, by our relative rates of SVB and NVB. 

The presence of an audience of mediators who have been conditioned to behave more SVB than NVB repertoire is different than the presence of an audience of mediators, who have been conditioned to behave more NVB than SVB repertoire. As stated, the latter is much more common than the former. Thus, the perpetuation of NVB or change of our vocal verbal to SVB depends on the kind of audience, on the situation. That is, mediators who have more NVB than SVB cannot function as a function-altering stimuli and thus cannot play any role in improving our vocal verbal behavior. Such mediators have made and will continue to make things worse. 

Only those, who behave more SVB than NVB can function as a function-altering stimuli for those who have more NVB than SVB. In the same way that asking someone to open the door, because one is carrying shopping bags, only makes sense in the presence of another person, the presence of someone with more SVB repertoire is needed to improve our vocal verbal behavior. All our relationship problems are caused and maintained by NVB. 

Of course, doors can also be opened by slaves and no emperor needs to ask any slave to open the door. This hierarchical difference is an example of how NVB make makes language meaningless or unnecessary. The nonverbal aversive presence of the emperor makes the slave behave. Also the quality of the behavior of opening the door is entirely different if the person for whom this is done is loved and revered. Then, the opening of the door is a function of being respected and reinforced, but the slave’s opening of the door is a function of humiliation, oppression and intimidation. 

The presence of the emperor always requires the same obedient behavior of the slave. This is precisely what happens during NVB. In terms of our vocal verbal repertoires, we seem to have been born and raised to only talk like slaves. Even at a covert level, we automatically reinforce NVB. Stated differently, NVB public always determines how we end up talking with ourselves. Due to our exposure to NVB, the covert speaker will act like an emperor, while the covert listener is only allowed to act like a slave. This kind of private speech or thinking is based on struggle and separation.