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INTRODUCTION TO VERBAL BEHAVIOR CHAPTER 18 & 19

Jenilee Acevedo-Medina, BCBA Florida International University

VERBAL BEHAVIOR

VERBAL BEHAVIOR DEFINED

Behavior that is mediated by the behavior of others.

Behavior that is learned and maintained the same way as other operant behaviors.

Differs between the behavior of the listener and the behavior of the speaker. Not receptive and expressive

Focus on function of verbalizations rather than form.

ANALYZING VERBAL BEHAVIOR

• Controlling antecedents:

• State of deprivation or aversive stimulation

• Environmental change

• Other person’s verbal behavior

• One’s own verbal behavior

• Consequences:

• Related to deprivation/aversive state

• Social

VERBAL OPERANTS

DUPLIC

• A response that is controlled by a verbal stimulus and has formal similarity to the controlling stimulus, in which the reinforcer is a general social reinforcer.

• Includes both echoics and imitative responses.

MAND

A response that is controlled by a state of deprivation or aversive condition in which the reinforcer is directly related to the controlling stimulus.

Mands can be for items, but also for information, access to activities and events, social interaction, etc.

Me want cookies

TACT

• A response that is controlled by a non- verbal SD and where the reinforcer is a generalized social reinforcer.

• The SD most be present in order to consider a response a tact, including private events.

INTRAVERBAL

• A response that is controlled by a verbal SD without point to point correspondence or formal similarity and is reinforced by a generalized social reinforcer.

• Can be a response to a question, fill-in- the-blank; helpful in maintaining a conversation. Allows speaker and listener to chat about things that are not present.

AUTOCLITIC

• A response that is controlled by the speaker’s own behavior that modifies other verbal behavior.

• A way to modify a verbal statement

• I really want a cookie right now.

• I could sort of go for a cookie right now.

AUGMENTATIVE DEVICES AND VERBAL BEHAVIOR

TYPES OF AAC • Signs – e.g., ASL

• Pointing – e.g., menu board

• Exchanging – e.g., PECS

• Voice Output Device – e.g., proloquo

RFT

RFT IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

• Is Skinner’s VB enough to explain all of human language development? Probably not.

• RFT can explain generative language, creative expression, and the emergence of novel words.

• Relating is an operant class in and of itself and can be taught and reinforced such that it will allow for the future emergence of novel relations.

• Sameness

• Greater/bigger vs. lesser/smaller, worse, etc.

• This is clearly important to teach!