The basic-applied continuum and the possible evolution of human operant social and verbal research.
Run basic human studies on talking and social rules, then slide them along the CHL chain into classrooms and clinics.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Hake (1982) wrote a think-piece, not an experiment.
The paper says we should run basic human studies on talking and social rules.
Stop leaning on rat and pigeon data to explain people.
What they found
No new data. Just a map: start with humans, then feed results to applied work.
The goal is to close the gap between lab and clinic.
How this fits with other research
Jiménez et al. (2022) gives you the map Hake (1982) asked for. They line up basic behavioral repertoires → pivotal behaviors → behavioral cusps → behavioral traps. Use the chain to decide what to study first and how to make it stick.
Tincani et al. (2020) shows the field listened partly. Their review finds piles of SGD mand studies but almost none on pure tacts or intraverbals. The human operant work F wanted started, yet it is still lopsided.
Spencer et al. (2022) extends the verbal theme. They use Relational Frame Theory to update Skinner’s old idea of countercontrol—people escaping control. This is exactly the kind of human-only topic F said needed fresh basic work.
Lerman (2024) is the sequel on the applied end. After we get human basic facts, package them so teachers, nurses, and cops can use them. The 2024 blueprint shows how to move the lab findings F wanted into real-world hands.
Why it matters
You can stop waiting for animal data to tell you how language works. Start with humans, pick a step in the CHL chain, and run a small basic probe. Then use Lerman’s toolkit to hand the procedure to non-BCBA partners. Monday plan: test a tact task with typical preschoolers, plot where it sits in CHL, and draft a one-page coach script for their teacher.
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Pick one verbal operant you rarely probe (pure tact or intraverbal), test it with three typical kids, and note where it fits in the CHL sequence.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Human operant research is typically viewed as fitting somewhere between the end points of a basic-to-applied continuum. Viewed in this way, the major role of human operant research is to determine the conditions under which principles discovered with animals also hold with humans. Relative to the basic and applied end points, which have defined the major journals and graduate training programs in Behavior Analysis, the human operant area has not been strong since the late 1950's when a scientifically based application was only an exciting possibility. However, application quickly became a reality and to some extent it replaced the major role of human operant research. After about 15 years of focusing on the basic and applied end points, an increasing number of behavior analysts are concerned about the large content of psychology (e.g., social and verbal behavior) between the end points and the continued growth of Behavior Analysis. Basic research in social and verbal behavior should ordinarily begin with the human instead of a lower animal, because the human is the most qualified and prepared subject in the sense that most complex social and verbal behaviors are more accessible in humans. This new role for basic human research of initiating rather than only replicating, could result in a rebuilding of the "bridge" between basic and applied, and contribute to the growth of Behavior Analysis in terms of extensions to new content areas, methods, and the followers it would reach in these areas.
The Behavior analyst, 1982 · doi:10.1007/BF03393137