Reflections on Verbal Behavior at 60.

In the present essay, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the publication of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior , I stand by and defend the judgment I expressed in my article "The Long Goodbye: Why B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior Is Alive and Well on the 50th Anniversary of Its Publication" (2008c)-that Skinner's "interpretation of the behavior of the speaker , given the contingencies of reinforcement maintained by the community" (Skinner, 1987, p. 11), is not only adequate but is also consistent with the principles of operant learning. To that I add some of my reflections on the book after having taught it for years and having written numerous articles extending Skinner's analysis to related topics.