Bidirectional Naming: Session 287 with Caio Miguel

As Juliet asks, "what's in a name?" in that Shakespeare play every 9th grader reads, I too ask the put the same question to today's guest, Dr. Caio Miguel.

Welcome to Session 287 of the Behavioral Observations Podcast! Literary allusions aside, in this episode, Caio walks us through the concept of Bidirectional Naming, and its implications for research and practice.

In this conversation, we use his 2016 paper, Common and Intraverbal Bidirectional Naming, from the Analysis of Verbal Behavior, as a springboard for this discussion.

One of the things that I took away from this conversation is to be more careful using terms like tacting, naming, and labeling interchangeably. In this podcast, you'll learn why these distinctions are important.

We also talk about why terms like receptive and expressive labeling aren't conceptually systematic, and should be avoided in the Behavior Analytic literature. If that sounds like a hot take to you, please tune in to hear the rationale.

Caio is also presenting at this year's Verbal Behavior Conference, which is taking place March 27-28, 2025, both in Austin, TX, as well as virtually through BehaviorLive. If you like to nerd out on all things verbal behavior, this is your event. And during our conversation, Caio provides a preview of what he plans to talk about at the VBC.

Here are some links to resources that came up during this episode:

• Verbale - Consult with Drs. Miguel and LaFrance.
• Miguel (2016). Common and Intraverbal Bidirectional Naming.
• Miguel (2018). Problem-Solving, Bidirectional Naming, and the Development of Verbal Repertoires.
• Miguel (2021). Jack and Me.
• The Verbal Behavior Research Lab.
• Sacramento State's ABA Ma
• Inside JABA Series #2: Big Idea Papers and Their Impact (CEU available).
• Horne and Lowe (1996). On the origins of naming and other symbolic behavior.
• Preventative Systems, Assent, and The Naming Experience: Session 278 with Jim Moore.
• Sivaraman et al. (2023). Verbal behavior development theory and relational frame theory: Reflecting on similarities and differences.
• Session 282: A Behavioral Analysis of Problem Solving (CEU available).
• Carbone et al. (2010). The Role of the Reflexive-Conditioned Motivating Operation (CMO-R) During Discrete Trial Instruction of Children With Autism.
• Palmer (2016). On Intraverbal Cont