Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005;21(1):59-74.
doi: 10.1007/BF03393010.

Emergence of Mands and Tacts of Novel Objects among Preschool Children

Anna Ingeborg Petursdottir  1 , James E Carr, Jack Michael
Affiliations

Emergence of Mands and Tacts of Novel Objects among Preschool Children

Anna Ingeborg Petursdottir et al. Anal Verbal Behav. 2005.

Abstract

According to Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior, the mand and the tact are functionally independent verbal operants, each of which is acquired through a unique history of reinforcement. The present study attempted to replicate the findings of Lamarre and Holland (1985), who empirically demonstrated functional independence of mands and tacts in typically developing preschool children. Five children participated. All were initially trained to complete two 4-piece assembly tasks. Four children were then trained to tact the four pieces that comprised one of the assembly tasks, and to mand for the four pieces that comprised the other task, using arbitrary vocal response forms. The remaining child received tact training only, and only on one task. The effects of training on the untrained operant were evaluated in a multiple-probe design across tasks. Following mand training, 4 out of 4 children reliably emitted tacts under testing conditions, while the effects of tact training differed across participants. The results differ from those of Lamarre and Holland, but are not necessarily surprising from the point of view of either Skinner's analysis or more recent behavioral accounts of language. Future research should attempt to identify variables that affect transfer between mand and tact relations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The effects of tact and mand training on tact (filled circles) and mand (open squares) acquisition for Tristan.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The effects of tact and mand training on tact (filled circles) and mand (open squares) acquisition for Emma.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The effects of tact and mand training on tact (filled circles) and mand (open squares) acquisition for Noah.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The effects of tact and mand training on tact (filled circles) and mand (open squares) acquisition for Olivia.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The effects of tact training on tact (filled circles) and mand (open squares) acquisition for Mackenzie.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Trials to criterion in each training phase for each participant.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Barnes-Holmes D, Barnes-Holmes Y, Cullinan V. Relational frame theory and Skinner's Verbal Behavior: A possible synthesis. The Behavior Analyst. 2000;23:69–84. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carroll R. J, Hesse B. E. The effects of alternating mand and tact training on the acquisition of tacts. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. 1987;5:55–65. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Egan C, Barnes-Holmes D. Assessing the independence of function between mands and tacts. In: Egan C, editor. Contextual effects on verbal communication. Symposium conducted at the 30th annual convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis; Boston, MA: May 2004. (Chair)
    1. Goyos C. Equivalence class formation via common reinforcers among preschool children. Psychological Record. 2000;50:629–654.
    1. Hall G, Sundberg M. L. Teaching mands by manipulating conditioned establishing operations. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. 1987;5:41–53. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources