MULTIPLE CONTROL IN VERBAL BEHAVIOR: BRAZILIAN HUMOR AND RELATED OPERANTS

Abstract

The current article presents Skinner’s (1957) formulation regarding the variables responsible for what is known as humor, with examples related to the Brazilian culture and literature. The behavior responsible for producing humoristic effects upon the listener is understood as being multiply controlled. This behavior is analyzed through its products such as texts and samples of spoken language in which it is possible to make inferences regarding theconditions under which the behavior occurred. Puns and jokes are examples of multiple control given that: 1) the strength of a response is a function of more than one variable, a form of convergent multiple control, and 2) one variable can affect the strength of several responses, a form of divergent multiple control. Multiple control may involve one word or phrase under control of multiple variables, or sources, at the same time. The word or phrase is called critical response, and the controlling variables; main thematic source, secondary source, and carrier source.Through different examples, the three types of sources are described, as well as guidelines for creating a pun that is good or funny. Satire and irony are presented as examples of behaviors controlled by distinct audiences, and poems by Manuel Bandeira are presented as examples of satirical behavior. It is argued that being humorous is learned and possibly an adaptive behavior in that an event may be less stressful if it is taken with some “sense of humor”.Key words: humor, verbal behavior, multiple control