Verbal Behaviour and Rules

Question 1

What is verbal behaviour?

Answer 1

Behaviour that is reinforced through the mediation of another person’s behaviour

Question 2

The elementary verbal operants: Mand

Answer 2

• The mand is a type of verbal operant in which a speaker asks for (or states, demands, implies etc) what he needs or wants
• The mand is a verbal operant for which the form of the response is under the functional control of motivating operants and specific reinforcement
• “Cookie” functions as a mand if a deprivational state is present and responses of the same form have been reinforced in the past
• Mands are the first verbal operant acquired by a human child
• If deprived of physical contact with one’s mother, then response form may consist of crying, pushing a sibling, reaching up, and saying “hug”

Question 3

The elementary verbal operants: Tact

Answer 3

• The tact is a type of verbal operant in which a speaker names things and actions that the speaker has direct contact with through any of the sense modes
• The tact is a verbal operant under the functional control of a nonverbal discriminative stimulus, and it produces generalised conditioned reinforcement

Question 4

The elementary verbal operants: Echoic

Answer 4

• The echoic is a type of verbal operant that occurs when a speaker repeats the verbal behaviour of another speaker
• Repeating the words, phrases, and vocal behaviour of others, which is common in day-to-day discourse is echoic also
• The echoic operant is controlled by a verbal discriminative stimulus that has point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity with the response

Question 5

The elementary verbal operants: Intraverbal

Answer 5

• The intraverbal is a type of verbal operant in which a speaker differentially responds to the verbal behaviours of others
• The intraverbal operant occurs when a verbal discriminative stimulus evokes a verbal response that does not have point-to-point correspondence with the verbal stimulus
• Intraverbal responses are also important components of many normal intellectual repertoires such as saying “Dublin” as a result of hearing “What is the capital of Ireland”

Question 6

The elementary verbal operants: Textual

Answer 6

• Textual verbal behaviour involves reading. It doesn’t however imply comprehension
• E.g. I can respond by saing “vakil” to the text “VAKIL” in the absence of any “understanding”
• The textual operant has point-to-point correspondence, but NOT formal similarity
• Textual behaviour is controlled by a verbal stimulus (e.g. written text, braille etc) and generalised conditioned reinforcement

Question 7

The elementary verbal operants: Transcription

Answer 7

• Transcription consists of writing and spelling words that are spoken
• Involved when a spoken verbal stimulus controls a written, typed or finger spelled response
• Like textual verbal operants there is point to point correspondence between the stimulus and response product, but no formal similarity
• Transcription produces generalised conditioned reinforcement

Question 8

What is Skinner’s definition of rules?

Answer 8

• Distinguished between rule-governed or instructed behaviour and contingency-shaped behaviour
• Rule governed behaviour is controlled by “verbal” antecedents called contingency-specifying stimuli (CSS) that “specify occasions, responses and consequences”

e.g. 
Instruction: "Pick up the bags and I will tip you"
Stimulus: the bags 
Response: picking up 
Consequence: tip

Question 9

What are the characteristics of rule-governed behaviour?

Answer 9

• Relatively immediate acquisition
• Slow and unsteady
• ‘Conscious’

Examples:
- Problem solving, following instructions etc