BEHAVIOURISM (Skinner)

Argues that children acquire language by imitating the speech of others
When a child produces a word successfully they receive a reward and are encouraged
1. Getting something you asked for
2. Parental Approval
3. Parental attention
When a child gets a word wrong they are discourages which motivates them to avoid errors
1. Not getting what you want
2. Parental criticism or failure to understand
If something has a pleasant consequence it is likely that we will do it again
If something has a negative consequence we are unlikley to do it again
Punishment
1. Punishment is defined as the opposite of reinforcement as it is designed to weaken or eliminate a response rather than increase it
2. Punishment can work by applying a negative simulus eg. sitting a child on the naughty step or it could be taking away a positive stimulus eg. taking away pocket money
Skinner's research and child language
1. A behaviourist approach assumes that children's minds are a blank slate when they are born
2. Children imitate their caregivers
3. If they get it right, they are rewarded: through praise, or positive reaction, or by being understood
4. If they get it wrong, they are punished: by being corrected, or by not being understood
ARGUMENTS FOR SKINNER
1. Children develop regional accents so they can imitate the sounds around them
2. Children copy words that their parents say although it is unclear whether they understand the meanings of these words
ARGUMENTS AGAINST SKINNER
1. All children go through the same developmental stages regardless of the amount of parental reinforcement they recieve
2. Children CANNOT acquire grammar by imitation
3. Children are often impervious to correction
4. Children can produce original words and sentences that they haven't heard from adults
5. Children may copy words but they work out meanings and meaning relationships for themselves
6. Parents rarely punish (in a way) a child's linguistic errors. Children who are frequently corrected acquire language much slower

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