Is Covert Behavior Operant?.
JOS E. BURGOS (CEIC – University of Guadalajara) Abstract: The Skinnerian account of covert behavior has been criticized for not being supported by empirical evidence and not defining covert behavior. The first criticism is correct only regarding public evidence, which is more relevant to experimental analysis. Skinners account is an interpretation, where conceptual coherence is more relevant. Ones own covert behavior provides direct evidence for its existence, which is coherent with the interpretation. To address the second criticism, I ask whether covert behavior is operant, that is, whether it is modifiable by consequences. The question is empirical, but cannot be answered in terms of public evidence without appealing to introspection. However, it can be answered in terms of ones own covert behavior in some prototypical situation. To study this behavior, one would have to design the situation, define a covert-response unit, count its instances, register time, and compute and compare
