A Citation Analysis of the Influence on Research of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior

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Abstract
The influence of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior on the generation of verbal behavior research was examined in a citation analysis that counted the citations of the book from January 1957 to August 1983 and described the fields in which the citations occurred. In a subsequent content analysis, citations were classified as directly influenced by the book if they selected at least one of Skinner’s classes of verbal behavior for empirical examination. Directly influenced citations were sorted as descriptive, applied, or basic. The total number of citations of the book (836), the increasing annual number of citations, and the range of fields in which the book has been cited are evidence of its broad influence. However, empirical investigations employing at least one of Skinner’s classes of verbal behavior are only a small proportion (31/836) of the citations. Of this small proportion an even smaller number constitutes experimental analyses (19/836). The small proportion of empirical studies suggests that Verbal Behavior is primarily cited for reasons other than as source material for research hypotheses in the study of verbal behavior. Some speculations are offered to account for the book’s limited influence on research.