The speaker as listener

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Children's self-directed speech, or private verbal behavior, is crucial for cognitive development.
• Understanding how environmental stimuli influence this behavior is key to developmental research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of toy type on young children's private verbal behavior.
• To compare verbal behavior units emitted during play with anthropomorphic versus nonanthropomorphic toys.

Main Methods:

• A multiple schedule design was employed with 4 five-year-old girls.
• Children's verbal behavior was observed under two conditions: anthropomorphic toys (3D figures) and nonanthropomorphic toys (2D materials).
• Verbal behavior units (mands, tacts, intraverbals, autoclitics, conversational units) were quantified.

Main Results:

• Significantly more total verbal behavior units were recorded in the anthropomorphic toy condition.
• Conversational units of verbal behavior were exclusively observed during the anthropomorphic toy condition.
• Children demonstrated both speaker and listener roles in their self-directed speech with anthropomorphic toys.

Conclusions:

• Anthropomorphic toys appear to foster more extensive and complex private verbal behavior in young children.
• The findings support Skinner's theories on verbal behavior, particularly the role of the environment in shaping speech.
• Toy design can significantly influence children's self-talk and cognitive engagement during play.