Skinner on Language Acquisition

Another leading theorist pertaining to language acquisition is B. F. Skinner, a man who opposes Chomsky's linguistic theory with his behaviorist approach. Skinner believes that beahvior explains the speaker's verbal activity as an effect of environmental contingencies: audience response. Via operant conditioning, behaviorists such as Skinner have shown that techniques of positive reinforcement shape the repertoires of individual behaviors; reinforcement of appropriate grammar and language would therefore lead to a child's acquisition of language and grammar.

Chomsky devalued Skinner's proposal that "It is hardly possible to argue that science has advanced only for repudiating hypotheses concerning 'internal states.' " Skinner retaliated by proclaiming that scientists must research this internal states of they prove to be "the only useful guide to further research." For many years, Chomsky and other notable professors questioned the validity of Skinner's thoughts but he declined from refuting their criticism; thus, many proclaimed Skinner to be about 35 years behind his time and labeled him as one of the "psychologist nuts."