The history of imitation in learning theory: the language acquisition process.
Teach strong generalized imitation first and the rest of Skinner’s verbal operants follow more easily.
01Research in Context
What this study did
McClannahan et al. (1990) wrote a theory paper. They asked how babies learn their first words.
The authors used Skinner’s verbal operants. They said generalized imitation is the engine.
What they found
The paper argues that copying others is an operant. When babies imitate many sounds, words follow.
No data were collected. The paper maps the idea onto Skinner’s mand, tact, echoic, and intraverbal.
How this fits with other research
Rudy Zaltzman et al. (2022) extends the idea. One child with autism learned new tacts just by watching. The child first had a taught vocal chain, then observation alone created more words.
Fryling (2017) updates the debate. He warns that verbal operants may not be fully separate. If true, you might teach imitation and get multiple operants at once.
Pear (1985) adds a twist. He says true verbal behavior needs topography-based training, not just selection. E et al. focus on sound copying, so the two papers agree: kids should say the word, not just point.
Why it matters
If language starts as generalized imitation, your first goal is echoic strength. Run rapid echoic trials with varied sounds. Reinforce any close match. Once the child copies easily, transfer to mand and tact training. This sequence can shorten the path to first words for early learners.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The concept of imitation has undergone different analyses in the hands of different learning theorists throughout the history of psychology. From Thorndike's connectionism to Pavlov's classical conditioning, Hull's monistic theory, Mowrer's two-factor theory, and Skinner's operant theory, there have been several divergent accounts of the conditions that produce imitation and the conditions under which imitation itself may facilitate language acquisition. In tracing the roots of the concept of imitation in the history of learning theory, the authors conclude that generalized imitation, as defined and analyzed by operant learning theorists, is a sufficiently robust formulation of learned imitation to facilitate a behavior-analytic account of first-language acquisition.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1990 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1990.54-113