Teaching intraverbal behavior to preschool children.

Area of Science:

• Behavior analysis
• Developmental psychology
• Language acquisition

Background:

• Tacting and intraverbals are distinct verbal operants in Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior.
• Preschool children may not spontaneously emit intraverbal responses after learning tacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of a transfer of stimulus control procedure in establishing intraverbal behavior.
• To determine if teaching both tacts and class membership leads to emergent intraverbal responses.
• To explore the distinction between tact and intraverbal verbal operants.

Main Methods:

• A multiple probe design was employed to assess experimental control.
• A transfer of stimulus control procedure was used to establish intraverbal responses.
• Subjects were taught to tact Peabody picture cards and, in a second study, item classes.

Main Results:

• The transfer procedure effectively developed intraverbal responses and improved scores on the McCarthy Scales Verbal Fluency subtest.
• Teaching tacts and class membership resulted in untrained emergence of intraverbals for only some subjects.
• Further evidence was required to establish intraverbals for other subjects, reinforcing the separation of tact and intraverbal operants.

Conclusions:

• Tacts and intraverbals are distinct verbal operants that require specific training.
• The transfer of stimulus control procedure is an effective method for developing intraverbal skills.
• These findings have implications for understanding typical language development through the lens of behavior analysis.