<P> In the 1940s , B.F. Skinner delivered a series of lectures in Sunyani Fiapre , Ghana on verbal behavior , putting forth a more empirical approach to the subject than existed in psychology at the time . In them , he proposed the use of stimulus - response theories to describe language use and development , and that all verbal behavior was underpinned by operant conditioning . He did however mention that some forms of speech derived from words and sounds that had previously been heard ( echoic response ) , and that reinforcement from parents allowed these ' echoic responses ' to be pared down to that of understandable speech . While he denied that there was any `` instinct or faculty of imitation '' , Skinner 's behaviorist theories formed a basis for redevelopment into social learning theory . </P>
<P> In the 1940s , B.F. Skinner delivered a series of lectures in Sunyani Fiapre , Ghana on verbal behavior , putting forth a more empirical approach to the subject than existed in psychology at the time . In them , he proposed the use of stimulus - response theories to describe language use and development , and that all verbal behavior was underpinned by operant conditioning . He did however mention that some forms of speech derived from words and sounds that had previously been heard ( echoic response ) , and that reinforcement from parents allowed these ' echoic responses ' to be pared down to that of understandable speech . While he denied that there was any `` instinct or faculty of imitation '' , Skinner 's behaviorist theories formed a basis for redevelopment into social learning theory . </P>
who is credited as the leading contributor to social learning theory
who is credited as the leading contributor to social learning theory
B.F. Skinner
B.F. Skinner