Skinner described Verbal Behavior according to ______ over ______.

• A. Function, Form
• B. Form, Function
• C. Negative Reinforcement, Positive Reinforcement
• D. Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is that Skinner described Verbal Behavior according to form over function. He organized verbal behavior by the form of the response—the actual utterance and its topography—as the primary way to classify verbal operants (mands, tacts, echoics, intraverbals, etc.). The function—the consequence that reinforces the behavior—plays a crucial role in shaping and maintaining it, but the descriptive taxonomy centers on the form of the verbal response itself, not on its function. The other options mix in reinforcement types, which are not how Skinner framed the verbal behavior taxonomy.