Verbal Behavior Flashcards

A child sees a picture of a dog and says 'dog.' Later, the child hears the word 'dog' and says 'dog.' Which of the following correctly identifies the controlling variables for each response?

Answer: The first is a tact controlled by a nonverbal stimulus; the second is an echoic controlled by an auditory verbal stimulus

A tact is controlled by a nonverbal antecedent stimulus (the picture of a dog). An echoic is controlled by an auditory verbal stimulus that has point-to-point correspondence with the response — hearing 'dog' and saying 'dog' satisfies both criteria. These are functionally distinct operants even though the topography ('dog') is identical.

During a probe session, a learner is asked 'What do you use to cut paper?' and responds 'scissors.' This same learner also spontaneously requests scissors when she needs them by saying 'scissors.' According to Skinner's analysis, these two responses are best described as:

Answer: Functionally independent verbal operants that happen to share the same topography

Skinner's analysis holds that verbal operants are defined by their functional controlling variables, not their topography. The intraverbal 'scissors' is controlled by the verbal antecedent question and maintained by generalized conditioned reinforcement. The mand 'scissors' is controlled by an establishing operation (deprivation/need) and maintained by access to the item. Identical topography does not make them the same operant — they are functionally independent.

A therapist is teaching a child to tact internal private events. The child stubs his toe and says 'hurt.' Which methodological challenge is MOST specific to training tacts of private events compared to tacts of public stimuli?

Answer: The trainer cannot directly access the controlling stimulus to verify correspondence between the stimulus and the response

The fundamental problem with training tacts of private events is that the trainer cannot directly observe the controlling stimulus (the internal sensation). The trainer must infer correspondence from collateral behavioral indicators (e.g., the child stubbing his toe). This limits the precision of differential reinforcement and increases the risk of reinforcing inaccurate tacts — a challenge not present when the controlling stimulus is publicly observable.

Which of the following examples BEST illustrates a 'duplic' as defined within the verbal behavior framework?

Answer: A child copies a written word 'cat' by writing 'cat'

A duplic is a verbal operant in which the response reproduces the formal properties (point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity) of the antecedent verbal stimulus within the same sensory mode and product. Copying written text (visual–motor to visual–motor) satisfies these criteria. Reading aloud (visual text → vocal) crosses modalities and is a textual. Hearing and writing (auditory → written) crosses modalities and is a transcription. Tacting a cat is a tact, not a duplic.

A behavior analyst notices that a client emits a mand for 'break' both when fatigued after hard tasks AND when presented with non-preferred activities — regardless of effort level. This pattern most directly suggests:

Answer: The mand is under the control of two separate establishing operations and should be considered a multiply-controlled verbal operant

Mands can come under the control of multiple establishing operations simultaneously or differentially. Here, fatigue (deprivation of rest) and presentation of non-preferred activities (aversive stimulation) may both serve as independent EOs for the same mand topography. This is multiply-controlled verbal behavior — a clinically important pattern because intervention must address each controlling EO separately to reduce escape-maintained and fatigue-maintained manding appropriately.

According to Skinner, the 'audience' functions as a discriminative stimulus for verbal behavior. Which of the following scenarios BEST demonstrates an 'audience effect' rather than a simple Sd effect on a nonverbal operant?

Answer: A student uses technical jargon when speaking to a professor but simplifies her vocabulary when speaking to a peer

The audience effect in verbal behavior refers specifically to how the presence of a particular listener alters the form, complexity, or topography of verbal responses — not merely whether a response occurs. The student adjusting her vocabulary demonstrates audience control over verbal behavior form. The other examples describe standard Sd control over nonverbal or rule-governed behaviors (stopping running, arriving on time, sharing) where the discriminative stimulus signals reinforcement or punishment availability, not verbal form modification.