45.15 Review of the Tact

Let’s consider the tact first. In the discussion of verbal stimuli, we noted that verbal behavior produces a response-product with many features, only a few of which are “verbal.” These other features, being non-verbal, can therefore enter into the tact relationship. The loudness of a verbal response, made either by someone else or the speaker, can evoke the response “loud.” A response emitted under inappropriate circumstances can act as a discriminative stimulus for the tact “incorrect” or “false.” It doesn’t matter who makes the verbal response.