Tact

Tacting is simply the behavior of labeling (naming) “things” in the environment. Specifically, a tact occurs when a stimulus (non-verbal) is presented in the environment, resulting in a response of naming/labeling/identifying the stimulus presented. As the learner is reinforced after engaging in accurate responding, the presented stimulus becomes a discriminative stimulus (S^D) for engaging in this response independently (without prompting).

This verbal operant is one of the foundations of verbal communication, as building up a learning history of what things are called creates the vocabulary necessary to communicate to others in your social environment.

It can be spontaneous …

It can be prompted …

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