ABA Verbal Behavior & Language Development Flashcards

In Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior, a 'mand' is best described as:

Answer: A verbal operant controlled by a specific establishing operation and followed by a characteristic reinforcer

A mand is a verbal operant evoked by an establishing operation (EO) that specifies its own reinforcer, such as asking for water when thirsty.

A 'tact' in Skinner's verbal behavior framework is a verbal operant that:

Answer: Is evoked by a nonverbal discriminative stimulus and generalized conditioned reinforcement

A tact is a verbal operant controlled by a nonverbal SD (an object, event, or property) and is maintained by generalized conditioned reinforcement.

Which verbal operant involves repeating a vocal stimulus immediately after it is produced by another speaker?

Answer: Echoic

An echoic is a verbal operant where the response formally resembles and is controlled by a vocal verbal SD produced by another person.

An intraverbal is a verbal operant that:

Answer: Is controlled by the verbal behavior of another person without formal similarity

An intraverbal is evoked by verbal stimuli produced by others (no formal similarity required), such as answering 'four' when asked 'What is two plus two?'

The Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) is primarily used to:

Answer: Evaluate verbal operants and language skills in children with autism and language delays

The VB-MAPP assesses verbal operants and related skills (e.g., mands, tacts, intraverbals) across developmental milestones, guiding intervention planning for learners with language delays.

Which procedure would BEST be used to teach a child with limited vocal repertoire to mand for preferred items?

Answer: Transfer of stimulus control from echoic to mand

Transferring stimulus control from an echoic prompt to the motivating operation allows a child to independently mand without relying on vocal imitation prompts.