Abstract
Chomsky’s (1959) review of Skinner’s (1957) Verbal Behavior has been influential and attributed with a role in the cognitive revolution. However, while counter reviews from within behavior analysis have noted that Chomsky misunderstood the subject matter, certain aspects of his scholarship have been underdiscussed. This includes several instances where Chomsky misquotes Skinner or takes his quotes out of context. Similar to the findings of Sokal (1996a, 1996b), it is speculated that the problems with Chomsky were overlooked by cognitive psychologists because his general outlook was accepted. Implications for the editorial review process are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Auyang, S. Y. (2000). Mind in everyday life and cognitive science. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Barsky, R. F. (1997). Noam Chomsky: A life of dissent. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Bialystock, E. (1997). Anatomy of a revolution. In D. M. Johnson & C. E. Erneling (Eds.), The future of the cognitive revolution (pp. 109–113). New York: Oxford University Press.
Bloomfield, L. (1933). Language. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Chomsky, N. (1959). Review of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior. Language, 35, 26–58.
Erneling, C. (1997). Cognitive science and the study of language. In D. M. Johnson & C. E. Erneling (Eds.), The future of the cognitive revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 115–117.
Gaynor, S. T. (2004). Skepticism of caricatures: B. F. Skinner turns 100. Skeptical Inquirer, 28, 26–29.
Greenberg, V. D. (1990). Transgressive readings: The texts of Franz Kafka and Max Planck. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Harnish, R. M. (2002). Minds, brains, computers: An historical introduction to the foundations of cognitive science. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
Heidbreder, E. (1933). Seven psychologies (Student Ed.). New York: D. Appleton-Century Company.
Hilgard, E. R., & Bower, G. H. (1966). Theories of learning (3rd ed.). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Hull, C. L. (1943). Principles of behavior: An introduction to behavior theory. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Hull, C. L. (1951). Essentials of behavior. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Hull, C. L. (1952). A behavior system: An introduction to behavior theory concerning the individual organism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Hunt, M. (1982). The universe within: A new science explores the human mind. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Knapp, T. J. (1992). Verbal Behavior: The other reviews. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 10, 87–95.
Kosslyn, S. M., & Rosenberg, R. S. (2001). Psychology: The brain, the person, the world. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
MacCorquodale, K. (1970). On Chomsky’s review of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 13, 83–99.
McLeish, J., & Martin, J. (1975). Verbal behavior: A review and experimental analysis. The Journal of General Psychology, 93, 3–66.
Miller, N. E., & Dollard, J. (1941). Social learning and imitation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Montapert, A. A. (1964). Distilled wisdom. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned reflexes: An investigation of the physiological activity of the cerebral cortex (G. V. Anrep, Trans. & Ed.). London: Oxford University Press.
Richelle, M. (1976). Formal analysis and functional analysis of verbal behavior: Notes on the debate between Chomsky and Skinner. Behaviorism, 4, 209–221.
Skinner, B. F. (1935). Two types of conditioned reflex and a pseudo-type. The Journal of General Psychology, 12, 66–77.
Skinner, B. F. (1937). Two types of conditioned reflex: A reply to Konorski and Miller. The Journal of General Psychology, 16, 272–279.
Skinner, B. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms: An experimental investigation. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Skinner, B. F. (1944). A review of Hull’s Principles of Behavior. The American Journal of Psychology, 57, 276–281.
Skinner, B. F. (1945). The operational analysis of psychological terms. Psychological Review, 52, 270–277.
Skinner, B. F. (1950). Are theories of learning necessary? Psychological Review, 57, 193–216.
Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York: The Free Press.
Skinner, B. F. (1957). Verbal behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Sokal, A. (1996a). Transgressing the boundaries: Toward a transformative hermeneutics of quantum gravity. Social Text, 46/47, 217–252.
Sokal, A. (1996b). A physicist experiments with cultural studies. Lingua Franca, May/June 1996, 62–64.
Todd, J. T., & Morris, E. K. (1992). Case histories in the great power of steady misrepresentation. American Psychologist, 47, 1441–1453.
Tolman, E. C. (1922). A new formula for behaviorism. Psychological Review, 29, 44–53.
Tolman, E.C. (1932). Purposive behavior in animals and men. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Tolman, E. C. (1948). Cognitive maps in rats and men. Psychological Review, 55, 189–208.
Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20, 158–177.
Watson, J. B. (1924). Behaviorism. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This work was supported in part by a grant from the Aaron Solomon Foundation. The author would like to thank Wayne Sager for making a casual remark that ultimately resulted in the writing of this paper; John Michael, Cynthia Pietras, and Alan Poling for their consultation on the various versions of this paper; and Nancy Ann Adelman, Elizabeth Ann Whitlock, and Nicholas Alexander Whitlock for their patience and support.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Adelman, B.E. An Underdiscussed Aspect of Chomsky (1959). Analysis Verbal Behav 23, 29–34 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03393044
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03393044