Christina Burk, M.A. 1 Introduction to Verbal Behavior

Christina Burk, M.A.– 1 –Introduction to Verbal Behavior

Christina Burk, M.A.

Consulting Behavior Analyst

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Summary of Relevant Primary Verbal Operants

and

Introductory Strategies of Applied Verbal Behavior

STIMULUS-STIMULUS PAIRING (Pairing oneself with positive reinforcement): When beginning a new teacher-learner relationship, it is important that the learner be motivated to interact with and learn from the teacher. Also, in preexisting teacher-learner relationships, sometimes the teaching has unintentionally acquired an aversive quality that must be reversed if the learner is to work and learn appropriately. One effective means of accomplishing both of these goals is to pair the teacher with positive reinforcement. This involves having the teacher initially deliver noncontingent reinforcement (reinforcement is given freely, not based on any particular behavior of the learner). After this period of noncontingent reinforcement, easy demands are gradually introduced, followed eventually by more difficult demands, although through errorless learning, even the more difficult tasks are achievable for the learner. (See Yoon et al., The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, Vol. 17, 2001.)

ERRORLESS LEARNING: A prompting method in which the rate of learner errors is reduced to a zero or near-zero level. The teacher will present an antecedent, give a delay of typically two to three seconds, in order to allow the learner an opportunity to respond independently, and then prompt the correct response as necessary. The type of prompt used depends on the learner’s current repertoire. Immediately after this prompted trial, a transfer trial is delivered, in which the same antecedent is represented but without the prompt or with the use of a less-intrusive prompt. This prevents the learner from becoming prompt dependent. Transfer trials are critically important: For every prompted trial the student completes, you MUST immediately attempt a trial that is unprompted or less prompted.

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT: The rate of behavior increases after being immediately followed by the presentation of a stimulus.

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT: The rate of behavior increases after being immediately followed by the removal of a stimulus.

POSITIVE PUNISHMENT: The rate of behavior decreases after being immediately followed by the presentation of a stimulus.

NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT: The rate of behavior decreases after being immediately followed by the removal of a stimulus.

ESTABLISHING OPERATION (EO): An EO is a condition of deprivation or aversion that both:

Momentarily/temporarily alters (usually increases) the value of some reinforcer AND
Increases the likelihood that all behavior that has produced the reinforcer in the past will occur.

Establishing operations are the most important motivational variable in language training.
EOs are especially important in mand teaching.

Example:

You want a student to ask for juice. You begin by feeding the student salty foods. The consumption of salt increases the EO for a drink. The student asks for juice because the value of a drink has been temporarily increased by the thirst-inducing salt (1) and because asking for juice in the past has produced access to juice (2). Once the student has finished the juice, however, he is no longer thirsty; therefore, the EO for juice is lost for the time being.

MAND: Verbal behavior in which the form of the response is controlled by the motivational or aversive condition that determined the behavior. Mands specify their own reinforcer (“I say it, I get it.”)

Example:

T: “What do you want?”

S: “Cookie.”

T: “Sure, here’s a cookie.”

Mands occur when establishing operations (EOs) are strong. As in the above example, when you have eaten a lot of salty food and become thirsty, juice may temporarily seem more reinforcing. However, once you have had juice, its value as a reinforcer decreases. Another example is if you have a strong aversion to doing something, escape or avoidance of that situation is temporarily more reinforcing.
Mands occur mainly in a state of deprivation, when access to the item for which you are manding has been limited or nonexistent. In this case, there is a strong EO for the item.
Mands rarely occur in a state of satiation, when access to the item has been free and extensive. In this case, there is no EO for the item.
Mands are usually the first verbal operant acquired since they are usually paired with delivery of reinforcement.

ECHOIC/MIMETIC: (Vocal and motor imitation, respectively.) Verbal behavior whose form is controlled by someone else's verbal behavior with 1:1 correspondence. (“You say/do it, I say/do it.”)

Examples:

(Echoic)(Mimetic)

T: “Cookie.”T: claps hands

S: “Cookie.”S: claps hands

T: “Great job!”T: “Excellent!”

A strong echoic repertoire is critical for teaching other verbal behavior and for shaping articulation.
Echoics belong to the class of imitative behavior.
Often teachers can strengthen echoics by strengthening other types of imitation (gross motor; fine motor; oral motor; object), since strengthening one member of a class of behavior strengthens all members of that class.
A strong mimetic repertoire benefits those students who use sign language. Improving other imitative repertoires can also strengthen mimetics.

TACT: Verbal behavior under the control of the nonverbal environment, which includes nouns, adjectives, pronouns, actions, relations, etc. Tacts are reinforced with any item other than the item tacted. (“I say it, I get something else.”)

Example:

T: “What’s this?”

S: “Cookie.”

T: “Great! Here’s a chip.”

Mands are naturally more reinforcing than tacts, since mands, unlike tacts, specify their own reinforcer.
Tacts are strengthened by social reinforcement. Tacts benefit the listener, whereas mands benefit the speaker.
Tacts do not transfer automatically to mands or intraverbals. Generally, all verbal operants must be taught separately.

INTRAVERBAL: Verbal behavior under the control of other verbal behavior that is strengthened by social reinforcement; similar to tacting except that there is no visual stimulus present, i.e., the tendency to say, “Apple” when asked to name a fruit. This involves conversational language. (“You say something, I say something related, but different.”)

Example:

T: “What’s something you eat?”

S: “Cookie.”

T: “Wonderful!”

Fill-ins (the student fills in a blank in a phrase or song) and answering wh- questions are both forms of intraverbals.
Intraverbal behavior is similar to tacting, except that, with intraverbals, no visual stimulus is present.
Intraverbals allow conversation about stimuli when they are absent. Intraverbal behavior is an important part of conversation (along with mands for information and attention).

RECEPTIVE BY FEATURE, FUNCTION, AND CLASS (RFFC): Receptively identifying a stimulus when given a description of a feature (characteristic), function, or class (category) of the item, not by its name.

Example:

(Receptive by Feature)

T: “Show me something round.”

S: points to cookie

T: “Terrific, the cookie is round!”

(Receptive by Function)

T: “Point to something you eat.”

S: points to cookie

T: “That’s right, you eat cookies.”

(Receptive by Class)

T: “Where’s a food?”

S: points to cookie

T: “Absolutely, a cookie is food.”

TACTING BY FEATURE, FUNCTION, AND CLASS (TFFC): Expressively identifying a stimulus when given a description of a feature (characteristic), function, or class (category) of the item, not by its name.

Example:

(Tacting by Feature)

T: “Tell me something round.”

S: “Cookie.”

T: “Terrific, the cookie is round!”

(Tacting by Function)

T: “What’s something you eat.”

S: “Cookie.”

T: “That’s right, you eat cookies.”

(Tacting by Class)

T: “Where’s a food?”

S: “Cookie.”

T: “Absolutely, a cookie is food.”

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Prompting Heuristic

(Antecedent is delivered only 1x when response is correct.)

[Stimulus is a picture of an apple]

Antecedent: “What is it?”

Behavior: “Apple.”

Consequence: “Great!”

(Antecedent is delivered 3x when first response is incorrect.)

[Stimulus is a picture of an apple]

Antecedent: “What is it?”

Behavior: “Dog.”

Consequence/Antecedent: “What is it? Apple.” (ignore error, give echoic prompt)

Behavior: “Apple.”

Consequence: “Good.” (praise only)

Antecedent: “What is it?” (transfer trial; happens immediately)

Behavior: “Apple.”

Consequence: “Great!” (plus tangible reinforcer)

(Antecedent is delivered 4x when first response and second/prompted response are incorrect.)

[Stimulus is a picture of an apple]

Antecedent: “What is it?”

Behavior: “Dog.”

Consequence/Antecedent: “What is it? Apple.” (ignore error, give echoic prompt)

Behavior: “Dog.”

Consequence/Antecedent: “What is it? Apple.” (echoic plus holding up picture or using textual prompt)

Behavior: “Apple.”

Consequence: “Good.” (praise only)

Antecedent: “What is it? Apple.” (echoic only, no positional or textual) (transfer trial; immediate)

Behavior: “Apple.”

Consequence: “Great!” (plus tangible reinforcer)

(Antecedent is delivered 5x when first response and third/transfer trial response are incorrect.)

[Stimulus is a picture of an apple]

Antecedent: “What is it?”

Behavior: “Dog.”

Consequence/Antecedent: “What is it? Apple.” (ignore error, give echoic prompt)

Behavior: “Apple.”

Consequence: “Good.” (praise only)

Antecedent: “What is it?” (transfer trial; happens immediately)

Behavior: “Dog.”

Consequence/Antecedent: “What is it? Apple.” (ignore error, give echoic prompt)

Behavior: “Apple.”

Consequence: “Great!” (praise only)

Antecedent: “What is it? App-.” (partial echoic) (transfer trial; happens immediately)

Behavior: “Apple.”

Consequence: “Great!” (plus tangible reinforcer)

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