Applying Skinner's Analysis of Verbal Behavior to Persons With Dementia

Skinner's 1957 analysis of verbal behavior has demonstrated a fair amount of utility to teach language to children with autism and other various disorders. However, the learning of language can be forgotten, as is the case for many elderly suffering from dementia or other degenerative diseases. It appears possible that Skinner's operants may facilitate not only acquisition of language but also the ability to recall items or objects that may have appeared to be “forgotten.” The present study examined the utility of having a series of adults in long-term care emit tacts, echoics, or intraverbals upon presentation of various visual stimuli. Compared to a no-verbal response condition, it appears that the incorporation of Skinner's verbal operants can in fact improve recall for this population. Implications for the retraining of lost language are presented.