The Effects of Instructive Feedback and Stimulus Equivalence Procedures on Group Instructional Outcomes

Three autistic children, sat at a table with an iPad. The teacher showed a picture, said 'This is a vehicle,' and asked the child to repeat the word. Next the child tapped the matching picture from a three-item array. These tact + match-to-sample trials kept going.

While the child matched, the iPad also spoke extra facts: 'A vehicle moves people.' No one asked the kids to repeat these bonus lines. The team wanted to see if the children would later answer questions like 'Name a vehicle' without being taught that step.

All three kids began to name items from the new category after only the tact-and-match lessons. They had never practiced pure intraverbal questions before, yet they could list 'car, bus, train' when asked. The extra facts given during matching seemed to create the new skill for free.

Scores jumped from zero correct on the first probe to 80-100 % after two weeks. The gains held one month later.

Haq et al. (2017) warned that instructive feedback works only if the child is looking and echoing during the extra facts. Tullis followed that rule: kids had to repeat the tact before the match trial ended, keeping attention high.

Aragon et al. (2024) also got new intraverbal answers, but they used joint-control prompts instead of instructive feedback. Both studies reached the same place—emergent intraverbals—using different roads. Your client might benefit from either, or even a mix.

LaLonde et al. (2020) taught intraverbals with a bingo game. Their kids learned faster, but the game gave direct practice on the target questions. Tullis shows you can skip that practice if you pair tact + match with instructive feedback, saving session time.

If you run group morning meeting or table-time rotations, you can stack instructive feedback right into regular tact and matching lessons. No extra trials, no new materials—just add one clear sentence of bonus information while the child touches the match. After a week or two, test untrained 'Name a...' questions; you may see new intraverbal tacts appear without further drilling.