Topography-based and selection-based verbal behavior: A further comparison.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral psychology
• Applied behavior analysis
• Language acquisition

Background:

• Michael (1985) differentiated verbal behavior into topography-based and selection-based systems.
• Previous studies (Sundberg & Sundberg, 1990; Wraikat, 1990) compared these systems for learning object naming (tact) and intraverbal responses.
• Earlier comparisons had limitations due to subject variability in learning speed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To replicate and refine previous comparisons of topography-based and selection-based verbal behavior.
• To investigate the ease of learning specific verbal relations and the emergence of new stimulus relations.
• To adjust experimental tasks to individual subject functioning levels.

Main Methods:

• Replication of prior studies on tact and intraverbal learning and stimulus class formation.
• Adjustment of task difficulty by varying learning objectives and interspersing trained tasks.
• Systematic comparison of topography-based (e.g., speech) and selection-based (e.g., symbol boards) verbal systems.

Main Results:

• Topography-based verbal behavior was significantly easier to learn compared to selection-based behavior.
• Topography-based systems facilitated the emergence of more new stimulus-class relations.
• Adjusting task difficulty improved the ability to compare the two verbal systems.

Conclusions:

• Topography-based verbal behavior is more effective for learning and developing new verbal relations.
• Findings support theoretical analyses of verbal behavior and suggest practical changes in language intervention.
• Individualized task adjustment is crucial for accurate comparisons of learning systems.