Verbal Operant
A category of communication behaviour defined by what controls it and what consequence it produces.
Skinner's analysis of verbal behaviour classifies communication not by its form - spoken word, sign, picture exchange - but by what caused it and what it gets. The same word can function as completely different verbal operants depending on context.
Saying 'water' because you're thirsty is a mand. Saying 'water' because someone points to a glass is a tact. Saying 'water' because someone said 'what comes out of a tap?' is an intraverbal. Same word, three different operants, three different teaching procedures required.
This matters clinically because you can't assess verbal behaviour by counting words or testing receptive labels. A learner who can echo everything and tact objects in a therapy room may have almost no functional manding. The operant framework tells you what the learner can actually do with language, not just what language they can produce.