03 Principles, Processes, and Concepts / 03.12 Tacts

Question 1

Tacting is
controlled by a verbal object, event, relation, or property.
labeling an object or event.
primarily controlled by a nonverbal event, object, relation, or property.
allows the listener to infer about the speaker given certain conditions.

Answer 1

primarily controlled by a nonverbal event, object, relation, or property.

Question 2

Tacting may be under the control of
	an object or label.
	a property of a present object.
	the condition of the speaker.
	(none of the others)

Answer 2

a property of a present object.

Question 3

Which of the following is more likely to occasion a mand than a tact?
a book sitting on the coffee table in front of you
thinking about a lousy book that is sitting beside you
wanting to read a book and not having one in view
a book falling off a shelf

Answer 3

Wanting to read a book

Question 4

"After school," is
	(cannot determine)
	a mand.
	a tact.
	an interverbal.

Answer 4

(cannot determine)

Question 5

Tacting is
primarily controlled by the condition of the speaker.
labeling.
described by a nonverbal object, event, or property.
(none of the others)

Answer 5

none

Question 6

“Jump,” is a/an
mand if said to help someone to know when to jump a rope.
echoic if read from a book as a result of someone else having just read it.
tact if said to help someone to know when to jump a rope.
(all of the others)

Answer 6

mand if said to help someone to know when to jump a rope.

Question 7

A verbal operant that allows the listener to infer about the EO affecting the speaker, regardless of the environment is a/an
	mand.
	extended mand.
	tact.
	extended tact.

Answer 7

mand

Question 8

Manding tends to be maintained by
	acquiring unconditioned reinforcement.
	generalized conditioned reinforcement.
	acquiring the object/event manded.
	generalized unconditioned reinforcement.

Answer 8

acquiring the object/event manded.
Manding is maintained by receiving the object/event manded. Tacting is maintained through generalized conditioned reinforcement (e.g., “Thanks for telling me it is a ball”). (Michael, 1993, pp. 95-96; Skinner, 1957, pp. 81-90; Sundberg, 2007, p. 530)

Question 9

Saying "Water" as a mand suggests that
	the speaker's response is controlled by the environment.
	the speaker may be water deprived.
	there is water in view.
	(all of the others)

Answer 9

No. Mands allow the listener to infer about possible EOs affecting the speaker. Tacts refer to the environment.

Question 10

A tact allows the listener to infer about the environment
regardless of what EO’s might be affecting the speaker.
if the EO affecting the speaker is known.
if the EO affecting the listener is known.
under very limited circumstances.

Answer 10

regardless of what EO’s might be affecting the speaker.

Mands allow the listener to infer what EO may be affecting the speaker. For example, the mand “Close the window,” may indicate that the current temperature is aversive to the speaker. However, by hearing the tact, “That apple is red,” we can infer only that a red apple is present and that the speaker’s response is controlled by properties of the apple. (Michael, 1993, p. 96; Skinner, 1957, pp. 89-90)

Question 11

Questions are
	tacts.
	mands for nonverbal behavior.
	mands for verbal behavior.
	(cannot determine)

Answer 11

mands for verbal behavior.

Question 12

“Go to your room,” is
a mand if said immediately after someone else says “Go to your room.”
a tact if said in response to a picture depicting someone gesturing for another person to go to their room.
both a mand and a tact if thought, instead of said.
(all of the others)

Answer 12

a tact if said in response to a picture depicting someone gesturing for another person to go to their room.

Question 13

Generally speaking, mands and tacts are controlled by \_\_\_\_ and \_\_\_\_, respectively.
	(none of the others)
	EOs, environment
	objects, events
	environment, EOs

Answer 13

EOs, environment
Mands allow the listener to infer what EO may be affecting the speaker. For example, the mand “Close the window,” may indicate that the current temperature is aversive to the speaker. However, by hearing the tact, “That apple is red,” we can infer that a red apple is present and that the speaker’s response is controlled by properties of the apple. (Michael, 1993, p. 96; Skinner, 1957, pp. 89-90)

Question 14

Tacting tends to be maintained by
	generalized unconditioned reinforcement.
	acquiring the object/event tacted.
	generalized conditioned reinforcement.
	acquiring unconditioned reinforcement.

Answer 14

generalized conditioned reinforcement.

The speaker’s reinforcement for tacting is generalized conditioned reinforcement (e.g., “Thanks for telling me it is a ball”). Note that this contrasts with manding where reinforcement is the object/event manded. (Michael, 1993, pp. 95-96; Skinner, 1957, pp. 81-90; Sundberg, 2007, p. 530)

Question 15

Saying “Water” as a tact suggests that
whether the speaker is thirsty is irrelevant.
the speaker’s response is controlled by a non-verbal stimulus in the environment.
there is water in view.
(all of the others)

Answer 15

all

Question 16

“Jump,” is a/an
mand if said to help someone to know when to jump a rope.
tact if said after someone watching a child picking up a jump rope and jumping with it.
echoic if said after someone else says it.
(all of the others)

Answer 16

all

Question 17

Which of the following is more likely to occasion a tact than a mand?
somebody asking you to get them the book from the coffee table
thinking about a book
wanting to read a book and not having one in view
a book sitting on the coffee table in front of you

Answer 17

a book sitting on the coffee table in front of you

Question 18

Tacting
is primarily controlled by a nonverbal object, event, relation, or property.
allows the listener to infer about the environment and the speaker.
is primarily controlled by the condition of the speaker.
allows the listener to infer about the speaker given certain conditions.

Answer 18

is primarily controlled by a nonverbal object, event, relation, or property.

Tacting is primarily controlled by a nonverbal object, event, relation, or property in the immediate environment. For example, you are shown a ball (a nonverbal object) and say “ball.” The speaker’s reinforcement for tacting is generalized conditioned reinforcement (e.g., “Thanks for telling me it is a ball”). Note that this contrasts with manding where reinforcement is in the form of the object/event manded. (Michael, 1993, pp. 95-96; Skinner, 1957, pp. 81-90; Sundberg, 2007, p. 530)

Question 19

“Go to your room,”
is neither a mand nor a tact if said in response to someone reading, “Go to your room,” in a novel.
is a tact if said in response to a picture depicting someone gesturing for another person to go their room.
is a mand if said to a child to get him to go to his room.
(all of the others)

Answer 19

all

Question 20

A verbal operant that allows the listener to infer about the environment regardless of the EO influencing the speaker is a/an
	extended mand.
	tact.
	mand.
	superstition.

Answer 20

tact.

mands allow the listener to infer what EO may be affecting the speaker. For example, the mand “Close the window,” may indicate that the current temperature is aversive to the speaker. However, by hearing the tact, “That apple is red,” we can infer that a red apple is present that the speaker’s response is controlled by properties of the apple. (Michael, 1993, p. 96; Skinner, 1957, pp. 89-90)

Question 21

Saying "Water" as a tact suggests that
	there is water in view.
	the speaker may be water deprived.
	the listener is controlled by the environment.
	(all of the others)

Answer 21

there is water in view

Question 22

Which is the proper way to describe “Saying ice-cream when a waitress presents a bowl of ice-cream?”
The tact occurred when he labeled the ice-cream.
He tacted the ice-cream when it was presented.
Evidence of the tact is him denoting ice-cream when it was presented.
His tact referred to the ice-cream.

Answer 22

He tacted the ice-cream when it was presented.

A tact is a verbal response under stimulus control of an object, event, relation, or property in the immediate environment. Therefore, when talking about a tact, it is appropriate to describe it in terms of its stimulus control relationship. Referring to a tact as “naming,” “designating,” “labeling,” “referring to,” or “denoting” an object, event, relation, or property obscures the stimulus control relationship. These terms are not defined precisely or mean the same thing as a tact. For example, one might “refer to” something that happened days ago, but that wouldn’t be a tact due to the fact that it occurred days ago. A student could say “book,” “pencil” and “desk,” given a book, pencil, and the word “desk.” However, only the first two are tacts; reading “desk” is a textual behavior. Furthermore, if a student stopped saying car when cars drove by, does that mean that he lost or forgot the label? In short, it is important, particularly when talking to a behavioral audience, that precise terms be used. (Michael, 1993, p. 96; Skinner, 1957, pp. 89-90)