The Effects of Precision Teaching With Textual or Tact Relations on Intraverbal Relations

The role of Precision Teaching (PT) in establishing intraverbal relations was explored in 2 ways. In the first study, the experimenters explored the role of PT in controlling for baseline levels of textual repertoires prior to transferring stimulus control from the text to the question. Experimenters assessed the impact of pretransfer fluency-based instruction on textual relations on the efficiency of transfer of stimulus control, maintenance, and generalization of intraverbal relations. Extending Emmick, Cihon, and Eshleman (2010), who also compared the effectiveness of 2 textual prompting procedures (with and without fluency-based instruction) on the acquisition of intraverbal relations, the current study incorporated time-delay (rather than stimulus fading) for transfer of stimulus control and used questions that shared similar stimulus features. Results indicate that textual prompts and transfer of stimulus control were effective in establishing intraverbal responses regardless of the inclusion of fluency-based instruction. In the second study, the experimenters explored component-composite relations between tacts and intraverbals. Specifically, the experimenters examined the effects of teaching thematically related tact responses to fluent levels on the emergence of thematically related intraverbal relations (e.g., what are some animals) using a multiple baseline across thematic clusters design. The results indicate that once a fluent level of responding for the target tact relations was achieved (evaluated through endurance and stability checks with later checks for retention), the participant was able to engage in the intraverbal relations without additional training. These data extend the research pertaining to developing intraverbal relations, fluency-based instruction and Precision Teaching, component-composite relations, and recombinative repertoires.