Evaluation and training of yes-no responding across verbal operants.

Shillingsburg et al. (2009) worked with children who had developmental delays.

The team taught each child to say "yes" or "no" in different verbal operants.

They checked if learning yes/no in one operant carried over to the others.

Kids learned yes/no fast inside the trained operant.

The skill did not jump to new operants without extra teaching.

Each verbal operant stayed separate, just like Skinner said.

Lerman et al. (1995) warned that generalization needs a plan.

Alice’s data prove that warning was right—you must train yes/no in every operant.

Murphy et al. (2005) showed kids can mand new items after equivalence training.

That looks like a contradiction, but Carol taught stimulus relations, not yes/no topography.

Different skills, different rules—no real clash.

If you want true yes/no control, build it into each program you write.

Add separate trials for mands, tacts, intraverbals, and listener responses.

Track generalization probe data before you assume it happened.

One extra teaching loop now saves weeks of confusion later.