Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, Vol 26(3), Aug 2026, 151-164; doi:10.1037/bar0000339
Behavior analysis has its own lexicon, with words that deviate from their colloquial use (e.g., tact) or are unique to the profession (e.g., mand). This study evaluates how communication strategies as a speaker impact a listener’s recall, clarity, and perceived understanding of verbal operant terminology. Six variations of videos explaining mands, tacts, and intraverbals were shown to 522 participants. The study consisted of a 2 (jargon/no jargon) × 3 (explanation strategy: control, repetition, examples) posttest-only, between-subjects design. The six video types were as follows: jargon, no jargon, jargon with repetition, jargon without repetition, jargon with examples, and jargon without examples. Participants watched their video and then completed several follow-up questions and measures. Significant effects were found between jargon/no jargon on recall, examples/control on clarity, and examples/control and jargon/no jargon on perceived understanding. Findings suggest that professionals in behavior analysis should use less jargon, that jargon be replaced with functionally equivalent lay terms, and examples should be provided when communicating concepts associated with verbal operants. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)