Verbal Behavior (Skinner, 1957)

 Formal vs. Functional properties of language

 Language is learned through consequences
 Speaker & Listener
 Mediated by the listener (audience)
 Vocal Verbal behavior & Verbal Behavior
Six-Part Functionally Independent
Verbal Operants
 Echoics
 Mands
 Tacts
 Intraverbal
 Autoclitics
 Transcription
More on Verbal Behavior …
 Functional independence
 Pure vs. Impure (Mands and Tacts)
 Private Events
 Tact Extensions (i.e. Metaphorical Extension)
 Multiple Control
 Language assessment, Helps us decide “What to teach”
 Echoic > Tact or Echoic > Mand Training Sequences
 Observational learning and Naming (Not just tacting!)
Verbal Behavior Analysis
 Research Based Information that directs the behavior analyst
to decide:
 1) The current level of student functioning,
 2) What to teach),
 3) Protocols to induce verbal milestones.