Naming: What Do We Know So Far? A Systematic Review

Abstract

Although the term naming is used colloquially in the English language, it refers to a specific instance of verbal behavior within behavior analysis. Since Horne and Lowe’s (Horne & Lowe, 1996) seminal account on naming, the concept continues to generate clinical and research interest to-date. We conducted a systematic search of the behavior analytic studies on naming to highlight the methods that were used to test naming, the terminology that have been adopted, the conceptual underpinnings, and the methods used to train naming if it was found to be absent. Forty-six studies met inclusion criteria and we conducted a descriptive analysis of these studies. We found that most studies either used the terms naming or bidirectional naming. We found wide variation in the methods used to test and train naming. Nearly one third of these studies attempted to offer evidence that naming facilitated some other type of behavior, and the remaining studies attempted to train naming in individuals when the behavior was found to be absent. Overall, our review highlighted that there exists a rich empirical dataset on testing and training naming within behavior analysis, and we discussed specific areas for future research.

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“…Naming is an important aspect of how people communicate, interpret and understand the objects around them (Sivaraman and BarnesHolmes, 2023). In particular, they serve to provide meaning and affect people’s perceptions and expectations about the object’s features (Wu et al.…”

“…Naming decisions and effects are rooted in the area of psychology and cognitive development, which explores how individuals learn, interpret and react to objects' names (Sivaraman and BarnesHolmes, 2023). Prior studies have investigated the reinforcement of a listener response produced by a speaker, such as how children learn novel names simply by hearing caregivers call an object with its name (e.g.…”

Research and mentorship in behavior analysis from a lens of cultural responsiveness and antiracism

“…There has been a steady increase in the number of publications using reporting guidelines (e.g., PRISMA), which are structured tools to guide researchers in the reporting of research (EQUATOR Network, n.d.). Recent examples include systematic reviews of the naming literature (Sivaraman & Barnes-Holmes, 2023) and basic and preclinical studies of resurgence (Podlesnik et al, 2023). The benefit of using reporting guidelines is they reduce researcher bias while adding transparency and replicability to the research process (Plint et al, 2006;Simera et al, 2010; see also the recent JEAB editorial by Mitchell, 2024).…”