Human language and our use of it to communicate or to understand the
world requires deriving relations among events: for example, if A=B and
A=C, then B=C. Relational frame theory argues that such performances
are at the heart of any meaningful psychology of language and
cognition. From a very early age, human beings learn relations of
similarity, difference, comparison, time, and so on, and modify what
they do in a given situation based on its derived relation to others
situations and what is known about them. This volume goes beyond theory
and gives the empirical and conceptual tools to conduct an experimental
analysis of virtually every substantive topic in human language and
cognition, both basic and applied. As the term 'post-Skinnerian'
suggests, this volume challenges behavioral psychology to abandon many
of the specific theoretical formulations of its most prominent
historical leader in the domain of complex human behavior, especially
in human language and cognition, and approach the field from a new
direction. The need for a pragmatically useful analysis of language and
cognition is as enormous and varied as its extensions and applications.
This
volume will be of interest not only to behavior theorists but also to
cognitive psychologists, therapists, educators, and anyone studying the
human condition.