A mand is simply a request made by the speaker. MandĪ mand might be the most common and most taught operant in ABA. This blog post will review each operant individually and provide examples that can be applied when you take your BCBA exam. As you prepare for the BCBA exam, it is essential that you know every verbal operant, what evokes each verbal operant, and what reinforces each verbal operant. These operants include: mands, tacts, echoics, intraverbals, textuals, and transcriptions.

In Applied Behavior Analysis, verbal operants are the primary focus of verbal behavior. Skinner introduced his definitions of verbal operants and verbal behavior in his famous book “Verbal Behavior.” Verbal behavior is socially mediated and reinforced by another person’s behavior.

Verbal Behavior and Verbal Operants on the BCBA Examī.F.