评斯金纳《言语行为》

评斯金纳言语行为评斯金纳言语行为 Structure of the article 文章结构There are 11 parts in the article1.the general problem 2.the experimental context34 the basic concepts of stimulus,response and reinforcement5.the status of the fundamental claim610 the new descriptive machinery for the description of verbal behavior11.some ways in clarifying the problems of Skinners study1.The general problem The main content to which Skineers book is addressed is that of giving a“functional analysis”of verbal behavior.Here,skinner means identification of the variables that control ones behavior and specification of how they interact to determine a particular verbal behavior.What is verbalbehavior theory？1.The general problemSkinners analysis of language includes information on the reinforcement and punishment of language and the important aspects of stimulus control and motivation that impact language development.Skinners thesis is that external factors consisting of present stimulation and the history of reinforcement are of overwhelming importance.1.The general problemHowever,Chomsky believes that verbal behavior is much more complicated.2.The experimental contextreinforcing eventoccasion 2.The experimental contextAre they the same?The notion of“stimulus”,“response”,“reinforcement”are relatively well defined with rsepect to the bar-pressing experiments and others similarly restricted.But if we extend these terms to real-life behavior,certain difficulties must be faced.(What?)2.The experimental contextIn the first place,whether any physical event to which the organism(any physical event to which the organism(生物机体生物机体)is capable)is capable of reacting is to be called a stimulus(of reacting is to be called a stimulus(刺激刺激)on a given accasion()on a given accasion(契机契机)or only one to which only one to which the organism in fact reactsthe organism in fact reacts？In the second place，whether any part of behavior is to be called a responseany part of behavior is to be called a response，or only nly one connected with stimuli in lawful wayone connected with stimuli in lawful way？behavior has not been demonstrated to be lawful(有规律的有规律的)for the other factors such as attention,set,volition and caprice also have an overwhelming influence.behavior is lawful，but it is of limited significance for most of what animal does will not simply be considered behavior.2.the experimental contextChomsky argues that Skinner utlizes the experimental results as evidence for the scientific character of his system of behavior,and analogic guesses(类比推测)as evidence for its scope.This creats the illusion of a rigorous scientific theory with a very broad scope,although in fact the terms used in the description of a real-life and of laboratory behavior（实验室行为）may be mere homonyms,with at most a vague similarity of meaning.3.Stimulus and responseFor Skinner：A part of the environment and a part of behavior are called stimulus and response only if they are lawfully related;that is the“dynamic laws”relating them show smooth and reproducible curves.3.Stimulus and responseExamples：Oh!Mozart!Oh!Dutch!3.Stimulus and responseFor Skinner：Each of these responses is under the control of some different stimulus property of the physical object.For example:We look at a red chair and say red.(redness red)We look at a red chair and say chair.(chairness chair)3.Stimulus and response For Chomsky：I have often used the words Eisenhower(艾森豪威尔)and Moscow,which i presume are proper nouns if anything is,but have never been”stimulated”by the corresponding objects.Suppose that I use the name of a friend who is not present.Is this an instance of a proper noun under the control of the friend as stimulus?Simply,sometimes the response has nothing to do with the so called “stimulus”.3.Stimulus and responseWe look at a red chair and say red.(redness red)We look at a red chair and say chair.(chairness chair)Chomsky argues that we identify the stimulus when we hear the response.The talk of“stimulus control”simply disguises a complete retreat to mentalistic psychology(心灵主义心理学).We cannot predict verbal behavior in terms of the stimuli in the speakers enviornment,since we do not know what the current stimuli are until he responds.Whats the problem here?3.Stimulus and responseAll in all,Chomsky argues that the way in which these terms are brought to bear on the actual data indicates that we must interpret them as mere paraphrases for the popular vocabulary commomly used to describe behavior,and has no particular connection with the homonymous expressions used in the descroption of laboratory experiments.Naturally,this terminological revision adds no objectivity to the familiar“mentalistic”mode of description.他把这些名词那样移用于真实的研究对象，使我他把这些名词那样移用于真实的研究对象，使我们不得不把这些名词看作替代描写行为的常用语们不得不把这些名词看作替代描写行为的常用语的一些字眼。这样用的字眼，与那些用以描写动的一些字眼。这样用的字眼，与那些用以描写动物实验的词，虽则声音相同，实则毫无关系。自物实验的词，虽则声音相同，实则毫无关系。自然，这样把语用改变一下，是并不能给常见的然，这样把语用改变一下，是并不能给常见的“心灵主义心灵主义”描写法添上什么客观性的。（王宗炎，描写法添上什么客观性的。（王宗炎，1982）4.ReinforcementFor Skinner:The operation of reinforcement is the presentation of a certain kind of stimulus in a temporal relation with either a stimulus or response.A reinforcing stimulus is such by its power to produce the resulting change.Here are some examples in his book:1.A man talks to himself because of the reinforcement he receives.2.The child is reinforced automatically when he duplicates the sound of airplanes and streetcars.3.the young child alone in the nursery may automatically reinforce his own exploratory verbal behavior when he produces sound which he has heard in the speech of others.4.The artist is reinforced by the effects his works have upon others.5.One is reinforced when he hears his name.4.ReinforcementFor Chomsky:We can see that the notion of reinforcement has totally lost whatever objective meaning(客观意义客观意义)it may ever have had.Running through these examples,we see that a person can be reinforced though he emits no response at all,and that the reinforcing“stimulus”need not impinge on“reinforced person”or need not exist.It seems that Skinners claim that all verbal behavior is acquired and maintained in“strength”through reinforcement is quite empty,because his notion of reinforcement has no clear content,functioning as a cover term for ant factor.5.The status of the fundamental claimThe fundamental claim by Skinner is that careful arrangement of contingencies of reinforcement by verbal community(语言社团)is a necessary condition for language learning.However，Chomsky claims that children acquire a good deal of verbal and nonverbal behavior by casual observation and imitation of adults and children.It is simply not true that children can learn language only through“meticulous care”on the part of adults who shape their verbal repertoire through careful differential reinforcement.For Skinner:Meticulous care is very necessary for language learning!For Chomsky:Meticulous care of language learning may be not a must for children!5.The status of the fundamental claimChomskys example:A child may pick up a large part of his vocabulary and“feel“for sentence structure from television,from reading,from listening to adults,etc.Even a very young child who has not yet acquired a minimal repertoire from which to form new utterance may imitate a word quite well on an early try,with no attempt on the part of his parents to teach it to him.It is also perfectly obvious that,at a later stage,a child will be able to construct and understand utterances which are quite new,and are,at the same time,acceptable sentences in his language.5.The status of the fundamental claimChomsky claims that as for language acquisition,it seems clear that reinforcement,casual observation,and natural inquisitiveness are important factors.The manner in which such factors operate and interact in language acquisition is completely unknown.What extent inborn structure(天生的生理结构),maturation,and learning are responsible for the particular form of a skilled or complex performance are pointless.5.The status of the fundamental claimAll in all，for Chomsky：It is often argued that experience,rather than innate capacity to handle information in certain ways,must be the factor of overwhelming dominance in determining the specific character of language acquisition,since a child can speaks the language of the group in which he lives.But this is superficial argument.It seems that there is neither empirical evidence nor any known argument to support any specific claim about the relative importance of“feedback”from the environment and the“independent contribution of the organism”in the process of language acquisition.人们常常说。小孩在什么语言人们常常说。小孩在什么语言社团中生活，就说那个社团的社团中生活，就说那个社团的语言。所以决定语言习得特征语言。所以决定语言习得特征的头等重要因素一定是经验，的头等重要因素一定是经验，而不是以某些方式处理信息的而不是以某些方式处理信息的天生能力。这种说法是肤浅的。天生能力。这种说法是肤浅的。似乎可以说，在语言习得过程似乎可以说，在语言习得过程中，环境给的中，环境给的“反馈反馈”和和“生生物机体的独立作用物机体的独立作用”二者，到二者，到底那个更重呀底那个更重呀，目前既没有实，目前既没有实验例证，也没有已知的理由让验例证，也没有已知的理由让我们做出判断。（王宗炎，我们做出判断。（王宗炎，1982）Thank you!结束语结束语谢谢大家聆听！谢谢大家聆听！24