B. F. Skinner's attempt to explain all aspects of language — from word learning to poetry — as operant behavior shaped by environmental reinforcement.
Argues that verbal behavior, like all behavior, is controlled by its consequences and discriminative stimuli — no internal linguistic rules or innate grammar are needed. Famously demolished by Chomsky's 1959 review.
No conceptual lineage found.
No recorded contemporaries.
No recorded minds influenced.
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