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Verbal Operants
Your name
Capella University
PSY5280: Advanced Concepts in Applied Behavior Analysis
Verbal Operants
Introduction
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In ABA, behavioral analysis of receptive and expressive languages involves evaluation of
factors that influence behaviors of the speaker and a listener. Skinner identified that the
foundation of communication is language. Part of language is verbal operants, which Skinner
simply defined as units of speech, or forms of expressive language. Skinner identified key verbal
operants, which include mands, echoic (duplics), tacts, intraverbal, motor imitations etc. This
paper dwells on mands, tacts, echoics and intraverbals. The following grid presents descriptions
of some verbal operants, which will be identified as either of the four operants.
Verbal Operant Grid
As a result of… One has a tendency to… Verbal Operant
Walking outside. Say “it is so sunny.” Tact
Friend saying “cool.” Say “cool.” Echoic
Someone singing Say “boat.” Intraverbal
“Row Row Row your ____.”
Co-worker handing you a Say “can I have a pen?” Mand
paper.
Explanations
A tact is a verbal operant involves the labeling of events, actions, or events within one’s
environment. Therefore, since the first sample statement appears to label the
weather/environment as sunny, then it was concluded to be a tact. The second was found to be
echoic because it appears like another person is prompted to repeat or echo the word ‘cool’ from
the friend. When someone responds to a verbal stimulus after connecting with what is said, it
becomes an intraverbal operant. This is seen in example three where one responds with the word
‘boat’ evoked by an antecedent statement “row row row your.…” The last example is a mand.
This is because mands are statements used to request for desired actions or items. In this
example, the request for a pen is made (Copper et al., 2020; Tincani et al., 2020).
Verbal Operants
Your name
Capella University
PSY5280: Advanced Concepts in Applied Behavior Analysis
Verbal Operants
Introduction
, 2
In ABA, behavioral analysis of receptive and expressive languages involves evaluation of
factors that influence behaviors of the speaker and a listener. Skinner identified that the
foundation of communication is language. Part of language is verbal operants, which Skinner
simply defined as units of speech, or forms of expressive language. Skinner identified key verbal
operants, which include mands, echoic (duplics), tacts, intraverbal, motor imitations etc. This
paper dwells on mands, tacts, echoics and intraverbals. The following grid presents descriptions
of some verbal operants, which will be identified as either of the four operants.
Verbal Operant Grid
As a result of… One has a tendency to… Verbal Operant
Walking outside. Say “it is so sunny.” Tact
Friend saying “cool.” Say “cool.” Echoic
Someone singing Say “boat.” Intraverbal
“Row Row Row your ____.”
Co-worker handing you a Say “can I have a pen?” Mand
paper.
Explanations
A tact is a verbal operant involves the labeling of events, actions, or events within one’s
environment. Therefore, since the first sample statement appears to label the
weather/environment as sunny, then it was concluded to be a tact. The second was found to be
echoic because it appears like another person is prompted to repeat or echo the word ‘cool’ from
the friend. When someone responds to a verbal stimulus after connecting with what is said, it
becomes an intraverbal operant. This is seen in example three where one responds with the word
‘boat’ evoked by an antecedent statement “row row row your.…” The last example is a mand.
This is because mands are statements used to request for desired actions or items. In this
example, the request for a pen is made (Copper et al., 2020; Tincani et al., 2020).
