Association for Behavior Analysis International

Bi-directional naming (BiN) is a verbal behavior cusp. Initially, listener and speaker behavior are acquired independently and BiN represents the joining of listener and speaker repertoires. In this symposium, three papers will discuss the sources and outcomes of BiN. The first two papers describe experiences that induce BiN. Hotchkiss, Karanian, and Fienup analyzed two intensities of a tact protocol and the effects on inducing BiN. Hawkins, Gautreaux, and Chiesa examined the effects of a history of multiple exemplar instruction on joint incidental BiN. The third paper examined the outcomes of a BiN repertoire. Longano, Harms, Wilczewski, and Ishikawa examined the acquisition of novel tacts under direct instruction and incidental learning conditions and found faster acquisition during incidental learning opportunities.

participants interested in learning about the sources and outcomes of bi-directional naming, or the joining of speaker and listener repertoires

Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming (Hawkins, Gautreaux, & Chiesa, 2018) is a subtype of Common Bidirectional Naming (Miguel, 2016). Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming is defined as the emergence of both untaught listener behaviour and untaught speaker behaviour following an incidental language experience providing the names of novel items. No direct teaching is involved in the acquisition of the names of these novel items. We evaluated the effectiveness of Multiple Exemplar Instruction (MEI) on the induction of Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming with a group of ten older children and young adults, aged 6-18 years, diagnosed with autism and a learning disability. A multiple probe design was used to test for the acquisition of Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming. One participant acquired Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming following the MEI procedure. Four participants met the criteria for Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming prior to the MEI procedure being implemented. Five participants did not meet the criteria for Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming post-MEI intervention. The potential of tests producing false negative scores and the effects of multiple testing were discussed. It was also suggested that additional prerequisite behavioural cusps may need to be present prior to implementing procedures to induce Joint Incidental Bidirectional Naming.

We investigated the rate of tact acquisition under two experimental conditions, direct tact instruction and the presentation of Naming experiences. Two experiments were conducted using ABAB design counterbalanced across nine participants. Under the direct tact instruction condition, instructors presented a picture, without a verbal antecedent, and delivered social praise contingent on correct responses and a correction procedure (prompting the correct response and representing the picture) contingent on incorrection response. During the naming experiences phases, the instructors presented the picture and said the name of the picture while the participants were attending to the picture. After, we conducted probes to determine if the participants acquired the tacts presented during the naming experiences. Results from both Experiments showed faster rates of acquisition under the naming experience conditions. Participants with Unilateral naming and/or Bidirectional Naming acquired language in the form of tacts at higher rates incidental, whereas, the participants who did not demonstrate Unilateral naming did not.