File - Justin Daigle, MA, BCBA, LBA

A Deeper Understanding of Verbal Behavior

Justin Daigle, MA, BCBA, LBA Program Director

Overview 

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Currently, you are familiar with the concept of verbal behavior However, you have no way of systematically assessing verbalizations There are also other Verbal Operants that you have not be introduced to.

Presentation Goals  

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Understand basic VB concepts Learn formal definitions for Mand, Tact, Echoic, and Intraverbal Be introduced to Autoclitic, Dictation, Transcription, and Textual Learn how to assess Verbal Operants

Notes It’s important to ask “dumb” questions in this lecture. Don’t be afraid to ask me to repeat or explain deeper. Don’t be afraid to ask. No one is an expert on this, so your questions may stump me. 

Basic Concepts History, Definitions, and Concepts

Skinner vs Chomsky 1969 – both published language books “No black scorpion is falling upon this table” Last of Skinner’s books

He wanted people to have a understanding of behaviorism prior to this book

Skinner vs Chomsky He knew it would be difficult to comprehend He learned not to use words that were already in use – thus his original words.

Vocal vs Verbal Verbal behavior is not vocal behavior. Language is not speech. Keep the concepts separated in your head.

ex: ASL, gestures, written, texting, email, etc.

Defining “Verbal Behavior” “Behavior mediated by another person” Very broad definition Anything else will limit something somewhere

I often say “functional language”

Speaker vs Listener Remember that in the “real world” contingencies can overlap. It is important to keep focus when analyzing verbal behavior.

Examples tend to be speaker’s behaviors.

Speaker and Listener “Hi, Jim how are you?” (Mand, not intraverbal) “I’m good” (Intraverbal… and maybe tact)

Speaker and Listener “Hi, Jim how are you?” (Mand, not intraverbal) “I’m good” (Intraverbal… and maybe tact) Stimuli

MO for social interaction

Behavior

“…”

Postcedent

“I’m good” (Sr+)

Speaker and Listener “Hi, Jim how are you?” (Mand, not intraverbal) “I’m good” (Intraverbal… and maybe tact) Stimuli

Behavior

Postcedent

MO for social interaction

“…”

“I’m good” (Sr+)

Previous statement

“…”

No fight (Sr-)

Speaker and Listener “Hi, Jim how are you?” (Mand, not intraverbal) “I’m good” (Intraverbal… and maybe tact) Overlapping Contingencies

Stimuli

Behavior

Postcedent

MO for social interaction

“…”

“I’m good” (Sr+)

Previous statement

“…”

No fight (Sr-)

Measuring Operants Unlike in grammar, we measure by words. In articulation, we measure by phonemes. In poetry, we measure by meters. In verbal

behavior, we measure by functionality.

Measuring Operants “Quickly, look a big, blue, flying bug!” Tact Mand Intraverbal Autoclitic

?

Page 534 UMO/CMO

Yes

Mand

Yes

Tact

No Non-Verbal SD

Verbal SD

No Yes

Point-to-Point Correspondence

No

Intraverbal

Yes

Echoic

Yes Formal Similarity

No

Transcription Textual

UMO and CMO Unconditioned MO – A neutral event that functions as a motivation operation. An example would be “being hungry” is an 

unconditioned MO for food consumption.  Conditioned MO – A neutral event that functions as a motivation operation after it has been conditioned to do so. An example would be “being poor” is a conditioned MO for money.

Point-to-Point Correspondence Point-to-Point Correspondence – When the beginning, middle, and end of a verbal stimulus matches the beginning, middle, and end of a verbal response. “C a t” Speaker: “C a t” 

Formal Similarity 

Formal Similarity – When a stimulus and a behavior share

the same medium (such as written to written) as well as physical resemblance. Example: Speaker: “Write the word ‘cat’”. (spoken)

Listener writes the word ‘cat’. (written) The word changed formal similarity.

Relearning the Basics Mand, Tact, Echoic & Intraverbal

Page 534 UMO/CMO

Yes

Mand

Yes

Tact

No Non-Verbal SD

Verbal SD

No Yes

Point-to-Point Correspondence

No

Intraverbal

Yes

Echoic

Yes Formal Similarity

No

Transcription Textual

A Hint 

The correct definitions of the verbal operants

will always begin with…

“A verbal operant that…”

Mand Mand – A verbal operant that has a UMO/CMO and specific reinforcement Broken Down: 1) Only Verbal Operant with a MO 2) Has to have specific reinforcement 

Question If a child says “candy” and you give him a candy, is it a mand? 

Answer 

Before you might have said “yes”.

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Now you should hesitate.

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Did the child have an MO for the candy?

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Did the child eat the candy?

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What if the child handed the candy back to you?

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Manding requires an MO!

Question 

A child has an MO for candy and says

“candy” and is praised for using his words. Because you need more tasks in your schedule of reinforcement, you ask the child to perform three more task, then Deliver candy. Was the child saying “candy” a mand?

Answer 

No one knows…

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The immediate consequence of the word was NOT the specific reinforcer

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However, the specific reinforcer was delivered at the end of the schedule

because it was manded for. 

Going back, what’s a better way?

Tact 

Tact – A verbal operant that does not have a UMO/CMO but has a non-verbal discriminative stimulus. (This is a pure tact) Broken Down: 1) No MO 2) Non-Verbal SD

Intraverbal 

Intraverbal – A verbal operant that does not have a UMO/CMO, but does have a verbal discriminative stimulus with no point-to-point correspondence. Broken Down: 1) No MO

2) Verbal SD 3) No PTP Correspondence

A Note on Intraverbals RFFC, EFFC, Fill-in-the-Blanks, etc are all technically intraverbals. 

Echoics 

Echoics – A verbal operant that does not have a UMO/CMO, but does have a verbal discriminative stimulus with point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity Broken Down: 1) No MO 2) Verbal SD 3) PTP Correspondence 4) Formal Similarity

Introduction to Higher Level Verbal Operants Textual, Transcription, Dictation, and Autoclitics

Textual 

Textual – A verbal operant that does not have a UMO/CMO, but does have a verbal discriminative stimulus with point-to-point correspondence but does not have formal similarity Broken Down: 1) No MO 2) Verbal SD 3) PTP Correspondence 4) No Formal Similarity

Textual (What you 

need to know)

Textual – When the listeners writes down what the speaker says

Keep in mind that this really doesn’t have to be written down. Textual only requires a change in formal similarity from the verbal SD.

A Note on Textual 

There are two types of textual  Dictation (Speaker’s Behavior)  Transcription (Listener’s Behavior)

Autoclitic (Skinner’s version) 

Autoclitic – Verbal Behavior about Verbal Behavior. - Anyone want to take a guess what that means in the real world?

Autoclitic (Justin’s version) 

Autoclitic – Words that modify other words - Fillers (ex: “Um”, “Like”) - Structure needed for grammar and/or syntax (ex: “But”, “The”) - Modifiers such as adjectives and adverbs (ex: “Big”, “Blue”)

Questions 

Use your flow chart to attempt the given exercise (worth 30 minutes if you complete).

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Pay close attention to 29-35

Summary 

This stuff is complex and difficult for most

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You still are required to know it 

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The more you practice in situation – the

more clear it becomes.