BCABA Verbal Behavior and Communication 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to Skinner's analysis, a mand is a verbal operant controlled by:
- A motivating operation and reinforced by a specific consequence (Correct answer)
- A verbal stimulus produced by another person
- A non-verbal discriminative stimulus in the environment
- Generalized conditioned reinforcement such as praise
Correct answer: A motivating operation and reinforced by a specific consequence
Mands are verbal behavior controlled by motivating operations (deprivation/aversive conditions) and reinforced by the specific item, action, or information requested.
Question 2: A child says 'ball' when she sees a ball on the shelf. This verbal response is BEST classified as a:
- Tact (Correct answer)
- Mand
- Echoic
- Intraverbal
Correct answer: Tact
A tact is a verbal operant controlled by a non-verbal discriminative stimulus (an object, event, or property) and generalized reinforcement.
Question 3: When a therapist says 'What do you eat with?' and the client responds 'fork,' this is an example of a:
- Intraverbal (Correct answer)
- Tact
- Mand
- Textual
Correct answer: Intraverbal
An intraverbal is a verbal response controlled by another verbal stimulus without point-to-point correspondence between the stimulus and response.
Question 4: Echoic behavior is verbal behavior that:
- Reproduces the formal properties (sounds) of a verbal stimulus heard (Correct answer)
- Copies written text and reads it aloud
- Labels objects in the environment
- Responds to questions asked by another person
Correct answer: Reproduces the formal properties (sounds) of a verbal stimulus heard
An echoic is controlled by a verbal auditory stimulus and has point-to-point correspondence and formal similarity to the model.
Question 5: Teaching a child to request preferred items (manding) is considered foundational in early ABA language intervention because:
- Manding is controlled by motivating operations and has built-in reinforcement that drives learning (Correct answer)
- Manding is easier to measure than other verbal operants
- Mands require no discriminative stimulus, simplifying instruction
- Manding directly trains reading and writing skills
Correct answer: Manding is controlled by motivating operations and has built-in reinforcement that drives learning
Mand training leverages naturally occurring motivation and automatically provides the specific reinforcer, producing rapid and durable learning.
Question 6: Which term describes verbal behavior under the control of written text that has point-to-point correspondence with the spoken response?
- Textual (Correct answer)
- Transcription
- Intraverbal
- Tact
Correct answer: Textual
Textual behavior (reading aloud) is controlled by written text and has point-to-point correspondence between the written stimulus and spoken response.
BCABA Verbal Behavior and Communication 1
According to Skinner's analysis, a mand is a verbal operant controlled by: