From the Jones-Plug to the Amphora: Could Stemmer´s Theory of Language Acquisition Complement Skinner´s Theory of Listener Behavior?

Abstract

Stemmer’s theory of language acquisition is an empiricist account of listener behavior learning based on ostensive processes similar to Pavlovian conditioning procedures. Even though it is not a strictly radical behaviorist theory, its formulation at the level of relations between stimuli and overt performance makes it suitable as a candidate to interpret recent experimental findings that use stimulus pairing procedures to investigate the learning of listener behavior. Stemmer describes stages that range from learning the meanings of words and complex sentences to processes that may be involved in learning new word meanings through their relations with other known words within verbal stimuli. Empirical evidences and limitations of the theory are described, and the case is made that this theory could be the source of a productive research program towards expanding behavior analytic accounts of listener behavior.