Descriptive Analyses of Relations among Bidirectional Naming, Arbitrary, and Nonarbitrary Relations

Bidirectional naming (BiN) as a verbal developmental cusp and derived relational responding as a phenomenon have been used to explain the accelerated rate in word learning that occurs within the second to third year of life; however, there has been limited research on how these repertoires may be related. In the first of two descriptive studies, we evaluated the relation between degrees of BiN and scores on tests of derived relational responding. Study I involved 31 preschool students with and without diagnoses with whom we tested the presence and strength of relations among BiN and other arbitrary and nonarbitrary relations that were mutually and combinatorially entailed. Data from the first study showed a strong significant correlation between participants’ degrees of BiN and their scores on tests of derived relations. In the second study we collected additional data on BiN and derived relations in order to compare the mean differences between the establishment of arbitrary auditory–visual and visual–visual relations for 18 preschool students selected from the participants within the first study. This subgroup consisted of six students who demonstrated BiN, six students who demonstrated unidirectional naming (listener only; UniN) and six students who demonstrated no UniN or BiN. There were significant differences for both auditory–visual and visual–visual derived relations based on the students’ degrees of BiN. The results of both studies have implications for the intersection between the verbal developmental cusp of BiN (a derived relation itself) and other derived relational responding.