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ABSTRACT
Descriptive definitions in science are useful insofar as they identify natural phenomena that hang together in some distinctive way. In 1957, Skinner proposed an unusual definition of verbal behavior that has subsequently been criticized even by fellow behavior analysts. Although Skinner did not justify his definition at length in his published work, two unpublished manuscripts show that he put considerable effort into identifying the implications of his definition. Certain passages in these manuscripts identify Skinner's view of the features that covary to make verbal behavior a coherent topic of study. A consideration of these passages does not imply that Skinner's definition is better than alternatives, but it does clarify that which Skinner thought was distinctive about the subject matter to which he devoted so much of his career.
Keywords: definition of verbal behavior, descriptive definitions, prescriptive definitions, Skinner, verbal behavior.
Resumen
Las definiciones descriptivas en ciencia son útiles en tanto identifiquen fenómenos naturales que vayan juntos de un modo distintivo. En 1957, Skinner propuso una definición inusual de conducta verbal que ha sido posteriormente criticada incluso por colegas analistas de la conducta. Aunque Skinner no justificó su definición de modo amplio en su trabajo publicado, dos manuscristos no publicados muestran que hizo un esfuerzo considerable para identificar las implicaciones de su definición. Ciertos pasajes en estos manuscritos identifican la visión de Skinner sobre las características que co-varían para hacer de la conducta verbal un tema coherente de estudio. Considerar estos pasajes no implica que la definición de Skinner sea mejor que otras alternativas, pero clarifica lo que pensaba que era distintivo del tema de estudio al que dedicó mucho tiempo de su carrera.
Palabras clave: definición de conducta verbal, definiciones descriptivas, definiciones prescriptivas, Skinner, conducta verbal.
Definitions in science can be either prescriptive or descriptive. In formal modeling, one defines one's terms in advance to suit one's purpose: The mean of a distribution is defined as the sum of the scores divided by the number of scores summed; a rhombus is defined as an equilateral parallelogram, a sphere as a surface in three-dimensional space equidistant from a point. Such definitions are prescriptive in the sense that one can assert them from one's armchair in advance of looking at the world, and they...