Based on Skinner's classification of verbal behavior, the mand is the first and most advantageous verbal operant to develop. Deficits in vocal mand repertoires are common in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and can lead to decreased social interaction and increased problem behavior. The present investigation compared the effects of…

Amid the novel terms and original analyses in Skinner's "Verbal Behavior", the importance of his discussion of multiple control is easily missed, but multiple control of verbal responses is the rule rather than the exception. In this paper we summarize and illustrate Skinner's analysis of multiple control and introduce the terms "convergent…

The production of verbal operants not previously taught is an important aspect of language productivity. For Skinner, new mands, tacts, and autoclitics result from the recombination of verbal operants. The relation between these mands, tacts, and autoclitics is what linguists call "analogy," a grammatical pattern that serves as a foundation on…

To replicate a study purporting to show positive effects of facilitative interpersonal functioning in a conditioning paradigm, 32 subjects were verbally conditioned within an experiment designed to vary preexperiment interview, facilitative level of the experimenter, and contingency of reinforcement. The present study failed to substantiate the…

Results indicate that Ss have a strong tendency to imitate a model, whether or not the model is reinforced or is successfully learning the task. (Author)

Based on part of the author's unpublished doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University, 1967.

Ninety-six second and third grade children were exposed to one of six types of videotaped models. Children witnessed an adult female practice either charitable or selfish behavior. One-third of the subjects in each group heard the model exhort either charity or greed or verbalize normatively neutral material. Following this exposure, half the…

This paper presents Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior as a framework for understanding language acquisition in children with autism. We describe Skinner's analysis of pure and impure verbal operants and illustrate how this analysis may be applied to the design of communication training programs. The picture exchange communication system…