Where did Skinner suggest the meaning of a word could be found?
A. In the immediate and historical environmental contingencies that evoke and consequate speaker and listener behavior
B. In the delayed and historical environmental behavior of the speaker and the listener and the interpreter
C. In the topography of what was said and in the individual speech sounds composing words
D. In the classification of words by their grammatical forms or parts of speech, specifically, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs



Answer :

Answer:

The correct answer is A. In the immediate and historical environmental contingencies that evoke and consequence speaker and listener behavior.

B.F. Skinner, a prominent behaviorist psychologist, proposed that the meaning of a word is determined by the environmental contingencies that surround its use, rather than by internal mental representations or abstract definitions. He argued that words are learned through associations with environmental stimuli, consequences, and social interactions.

Skinner's perspective on language and meaning is known as "radical behaviorism" or "operant conditioning," and it emphasizes the role of environmental factors in shaping behavior, including language use and meaning.