Lowenkron, B. (1998).
Some logical functions of joint control.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior,
69, 327-354.
Constructing a behavioral account of the language-related
performances that characterize responding to logical and symbolic
relations between stimuli is commonly viewed as a problem for the
area of stimulus control. In response to this problem, the notion
of joint control is presented here, and its ability to provide an
interpretative account of these kinds of performances is
explored. Joint control occurs when the currently rehearsed
topography of a verbal operant, as evoked by one stimulus, is
simultaneously evoked by another stimulus. This event, the onset
of joint stimulus control by two stimuli over a common response
topography, then sets the occasion for a response appropriate to
this special relation between the stimuli. Although the mechanism
described is simple, it seems to have broad explanatory
properties. In what follows, these properties are applied to
provide a behavioral interpretation of two sorts of fundamental,
putatively cognitive, performances: those based on logical
relations and those based on semantic relations. The first
includes responding to generalized conceptual relations such as
identity, order, relative size, distance, and orientation. The
second includes responding to relations usually ascribed to word
meaning. These include relations between words and objects, the
specification of objects by words, name-object bidirectionality,
and the recognition of objects from their description. Finally,
as a preview of some further possibilities, the role of joint
control in goal-oriented behavior is considered briefly.
Key words: cognition, generalization, verbal behavior, joint
control, stimulus control, humans