Behaviorism in linguistics and psychology reduces mental activity and cognition to implicit, observable behavior behavior is explained as a relationship between input and output lie stimulus and response studies of speech behavior and the sound system prevailed cf Skinner B.: verbal behavior [5)Behaviorism in linguistics and psychology: • reduces mental activity and cognition to implicit, observable behavior • behavior is explained as a relationship between input and output (i.e. stimulus and response) • studies of speech behavior and the sound system prevailed • cf. Skinner, B.F.: “Verbal Behavior” (1957)