FUNCTIONAL INDEPENDENCE AND DEPENDENCE RELATIONS BETWEEN MAND AND TACT WITH THE SAME TOPOGRAPHY

Abstract

The present study investigated if training a certain verbal response topography in one operant was sufficient to produce the emergence of this same topography in another verbal operant. It also investigated if the order of training (i.e. mand training – collateral emergence of tact testing; tact training – collateral emergence of mand testing) affected participants’ performances. Ten children participated in the study and were divided into two experimental groups based on order of training. Group 1, with four children, started with mand training and tact testing, while Group 2, with six children, started with tact training and mand testing. The results showed a pattern of function independence with the children of Group 2, while it was possible to observe both functional independence and dependence between mands and tacts with the children in Group 1. The results are discussed based on stimulus control and present a dynamic view of the change from independence to functional dependence.Key words: verbal behavior, verbal operant, tact, mand, functional independence