Abstract
Naming
has been defined as a generalized operant that combines speaker and listener behaviors within the individual. The purpose of this paper is to reintroduce the concept of naming and its subtypes,
common
and
intraverbal
, distinguish it from other terms such as the tact relation, and discuss the role of naming in the development of verbal behavior. Moreover, a taxonomical change is proposed. The addition of the qualifier
bidirectional
would serve to emphasize the speaker-listener bidirectional relation and serve to distinguish the technical term from its commonsense use. It is hoped that this paper will inspire future basic and applied research on an important extension of Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior.