Association for Behavior Analysis International

Is verbal mediation necessary for manded selection responses and match-to-sample tasks? In the first study, the role of joint self-echoic and tact control is examined in manded selection responses. The second study examined the role of joint self-echoic and tact control in "remembering" sequences of foreign language words. The third study evaluate the role of intraverbal naming (Horne & Lowe, 1996) in a visual-visual MTS procedure with arbitrary picture across three sets of stimuli. The forth study evaluated the effects of teaching unidirectional intraverbal relations in a statement format on (1) the emergence of symmetrical and transitive intraverbal relations, and (2) the formation of equivalence classes. All four studies show that verbal mediation is necessary for both manded selection responses and match-to-sample tasks.

The purpose of the current investigation is to teach manded selection responses through joint control training to children diagnosed with autism. Manded selection responses are responses that are typically called "object recognition." For example, upon being asked "Give me car," a child picks up a car from an array of toys in front of him and gives it to the speaker. Many children with autism fail to select correct objects for words while they are able to name objects. The goal of this study is to evaluate the role of joint control in teaching selection responses in children with autism. The experimenter taught children with autism manded selection responses by using joint self-echoic and tact training. Training phases involved a total of 7 different steps with 2 different sets of materials. Result showed that only after joint self-echoic and tact training did manded selection responses occur. The knowledge gained from this study helps to identify the function of joint control in emergence of selection responses. The training method of the study can be utilized by practitioners who work with children with autism to facilitate emergence of name-object responses.

The formation of equivalence classes has served as a behavior analytic model for understanding symbolic behavior and the emergence of novel behaviors (Sidman, 1994; 2009). Horne and Lowe (1996) proposed that the emergence of novel relations may be mediated by a strategy known as intraverbal naming. For this reason, the current study evaluated the effects of teaching unidirectional intraverbal relations in a statement format on (1) the emergence of symmetrical and transitive intraverbal relations, and (2) the formation of equivalence classes. Experimental stimuli consisted of nine common images, divided into three categories birds (A), states (B), and flowers (C). Two undergraduate students were taught to tact each picture with individual names, followed by intraverbal training, which established verbal relations between two stimuli from different classes. Intraverbal training consisted of teaching statements that related birds to states (AB) and states to flowers (BC). Afterwards, matching-to-sample and intraverbal tests were presented to assess for the emergence of BA, BC, AC, and CA relations. Results indicated that following tact and intraverbal training, participants were able to derive symmetrical and transitive intraverbal relations, as well as stimulus-stimulus equivalence classes. As such, this study further supports the role of verbal mediation, specifically intraverbal naming, as an important mechanism underlying the formation of equivalence classes.