Effects of Between-classes Negative Relations Training on Equivalence Class Formation across Training Structures (original) (raw)
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The Psychological Record, 2015
This study aimed to determine whether the exclusive positive conditional relations established by the matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure are sufficient for equivalence class formation, or whether the negative conditional relations established with stimuli of alternative classes are necessary for it. In Experiment 1, two 3-choice MTS procedures were compared regarding equivalence class formation. The standard MTS procedure, where negative relations among stimuli of alternative classes are trained, was compared to an altered MTS procedure, where negative relations with stimuli that were not positive to any sample were trained. In Experiment 2, the positive and negative control patterns established by the standard and altered MTS procedures were assessed. Experiment 3 compared 2 further variations: (a) training only 1 negative relation with stimuli of alternative classes in each training trial type (semi-standard MTS procedure) or (b) varying the negative stimuli that did not belong to any class (varied-altered MTS procedure). The overall results indicate that for participants demonstrating high positive conditional baseline relations and high negative relations to stimuli from alternative classes, the probability of equivalence class formation was high, but when participants showed only high positive conditional baseline relations, the probability of equivalence class formation was very low. All main theories of equivalence class formation have difficulty accounting for these results, and an account based on a learning history of classifying behavior is offered.
Equivalence Class Formation is Influenced by Stimulus Contingency
The Psychological Record, 2016
Three groups of subjects received training in stimulus equivalence classes with a respondent-type training procedure. Stimulus contingency was positive for the first group, zero for the second, and negative for the third. Afterwards, all participants were tested with a matching-to-sample task for four baseline relations (A1-B1, A2-B2, C1-B1, and C2-B2), four symmetry relations (B1-A1, B2-A2, B1-C1, and C2-B2), and four combined symmetry and transitivity relations (A1-C1, A2-C2, C1-A1, and C2-A2). After this, they were retrained and retested twice. Explicit reinforcement was not programmed during the training or testing phases. The number of subjects who learned the baseline relations and showed the emergence of derived relations was higher in the positive contingency group than in the zero or negative contingency groups, although in all cases at least one retraining phase was required in order to reach the criteria. This finding contributes to the literature suggesting that stimulus pairing is the fundamental variable underlying emergent stimulus functions.
A comparison of Match-to-Sample and Respondent-Type training of equivalence classes
The Psychological Record
Throughout the 25-year history of research on stimulus equivalence, one feature of the training procedure has remained constant, namely, the requirement of operant responding during the training procedures. The present investigation compared the traditional match-to-sample (MTS) training with a more recent respondent-type (ReT) procedure. Another consistent feature of the equivalence paradigm is the apparent stipulation that both training and testing must occur before equivalence emerges. In this respect, a more idiosyncratic measure of class acquisition would be desirable. Multidimensional scaling, as a class of exploratory techniques, is introduced as a possible addition to the stimulus equivalence paradigm. Results from 35 subjects in 3 experiments suggest that while the respondent-type training method can be an effective procedure, the operant-based match-to-sample method was clearly more effective in tests for symmetry, equivalence, and extended equivalence. The addition of a scaling procedure proved valuable and showed that both training methods facilitated the emergence of derived relations to varying degrees. Results are evaluated in relation to the importance of broadening the necessary and sufficient training conditions and response requirements for the emergence of stimulus equivalence. Portions of this research were conducted as part of Michael Clayton's doctoral research program under supervision of Linda J. Hayes. Much appreciation is owed to Jiang Qian and Dermot Barnes-Holmes for their contributions to this project. We also thank William Dube and an anonymous reviewer for their thoughtful comments.
The Psychological Record, 2011
Prior studies have shown that the establishment of equivalence classes using the simple-to-complex protocol significantly enhanced the emergence of other new equivalence classes under the simultaneous protocol (yield). The current experiment showed how those enhancement effects were influenced by each component of the protocol used to establish the initial equivalence classes.-Yield during the simultaneous protocol was not improved following the prior establishment of other baseline conditional discriminations alone. The prior establishment of the conditional discriminations plus symmetry testing produced a small increment in yield. The prior establishment of conditional discriminations plus transitivity testing produced a very large increment in yield. The prior establishment of conditional discriminations plus transitivity and symmetry testing, or symmetry~ transitivity and equivalence testing (Le., equivalence class formation) did not produce further increments in yield. Thus, the enhanced emergence of new equivalence classes under the simultaneous protocol was due to prior demonstrations of transitivity rather than to the prior establishment of other equivalence classes. Some possible behavioral processes responsible for these effects are discussed.
Psychological Record, 1993
The role of individual stimulus names in the emergence of equivalence relations: The effects of paired-associates training between names. The Psychological Record, 43,[713][714][715][716][717][718][719][720][721][722][723][724] After matching-to-sample (MTS) establishment of six A-B and six B-C trained relations between 18 visual stimuli, and prior to MTS testing for the emergence of A-B-C equivalence classes, undergraduate subjects in Experimental Group A-B were orally taught discordant paired associations (PA) between the names they had given to the A stimuli and their names for the B stimuli. Group A-C similarly learned associations between names for A and C stimuli conflicting with potential A-C transitivity relations based on MTS training. A control group learned associations between A names and neutral names. In subsequent MTS tests equivalence relations emerged with very few errors in the control group. In Group A-B PA links between the names of stimuli often displaced MTS-trained relations and symmetrical relations between the visual stimuli. In Group A-C PA links more often displaced MTS-based emergent transitivity and equivalence relations. Emergent relations formed from combinations of PA-based A-B associations and MTS-based B-C relations could displace purely MTS-based transitivity and equivalence relations in Group A-B, but similar hybrid relations did not emerge in Group A-C to displace MTS-based trained relations or their symmetrical inversions. These results provide evidence for an effective facultative role for the names of individual stimuli in equivalence class formation, but not for their obligate involvement.
Reversal of Baseline Relations and Stimulus Equivalence: I. Adults
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 1995
Following the emergence of two four-member equivalence classes (AlBICIDI and A2B2C2D2), 5 students were exposed to a series of phases including a baseline conditional discrimination reversal (i.e., choosing D2 was reinforced and Dl punished given Sample Al; choosing DI was reinforced and D2 punished given Sample A2), the delayed introduction of CD/DC transitivity/equivalence probes, DE conditional discrimination training, a second baseline conditional discrimination reversal (i.e., choosing C2 was reinforced given Bi, etc.), and a return to original baseline reinforcement contingencies. Results showed that baseline and symmetry probe performances were extremely sensitive to baseline modifications. In contrast, patterns on transitivity/equiivalence probes remained predominantly consistent with the originally established equivalence classes, although there were exceptions on some E probe relations for 2 subjects. The dissociation between baseline and symmetry verstis transitivity/eqtuivalence patterns may have important implications because it is not easily accotinted for by current models of equivalence phenomena. Key words: stimulus equivalence, conditional discrimination reversal, complex stimultis control, object displacement, high school and college sttidents Equivalence classes are most typically established by training a set of interrelated conditional discriminations involving arbitrarily assigned stimuli. Untrained definitional properties of the set are then revealed by performances on no-reinforcement probe trials. Since Sidman and Tailby's (1982) classic analysis, the many demonstrations of basic equivalence phenomena have included a number of procedural variations designed to influence class formation and expansion (Bush,
Enhancing Equivalence Class Formation by Pretraining of Other Equivalence Classes
The Psychological Record, 2012
This study investigated how the learning of one set of equivalence classes enhances the learning of new equivalence classes. Fifty-two undergraduate students were divided into four groups. Subjects in Group 1 received no pretraining. Using the simple-to-complex procedure followed by incremental expansion of class size, subjects in Groups 2, 3, and 4 learned 3-, 4-, and 5member equivalence classes, respectively. After pretraining, two new 3-member equivalence classes were established by the concurrent training of all baseline relations and the concurrent presentation of all emergent relations probes to assess class formation (the simultaneous protocol). With no pretraining, 58% of subjects formed the new classes under the simultaneous protocol. After pretraining of the 3-, 4-, and 5-member classes, the new classes were formed by 62, 85, and 100% of the subjects, respectively. Pretraining of 4-and 5-member classes produced a small increment in the percentage of subjects who showed the immediate emergence of the new classes. Pretraining of the 5member classes produced a large increment in percentage of subjects who formed classes with repeated testing . Thus , pretraining influenced immediate and delayed emergence of equivalence classes.
The Psychological Record, 2013
When the matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure is used, different training structures imply differences in the successive discriminations required in training and test conditions. When the go/ no-go procedure with compound stimuli is used, however, differences in training structures do not imply such differences. This study assessed whether the go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli with different training structures would produce significant variations in emergent performances. Fourteen undergraduate students were divided into two training groups: OTM and MTO (one-to-many and many-to-one). During training, responses emitted in the presence of compounds defined as related were reinforced. Responses emitted in the presence of compounds defined as not-related were not. During tests, new compounds structurally emulated MTS equivalence tests. All participants finished training with comparable number of sessions and 13 of 14 showed emergent performances. These results suggest that differences in equivalence-test outcomes with OTM and MTO training structures in MTS procedures may be due to their different successive discrimination requirements. Keywords go/no-go; compound stimuli; training structure; equivalence; human To study formation of equivalence classes, the minimum prerequisites are (1) two conditional discriminations having elements in common (nodes) and (2) tests for emergent performances consistent with reflexivity, symmetry and transitivity (Sidman, 1994; Sidman & Tailby, 1982). The matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure is typically used in such studies. This procedure allows for different training structures, a term that refers to the assignment of sample and comparison functions to members of the stimulus sets during training (Fields, Adams, & Verhave, 1993; Saunders & Green, 1999). There are three possible structures with MTS training involving three stimulus sets (A, B and C): One-To-Many (OTM, sample as node; e.g., AB/AC), Many-To-One (MTO, comparison as node; e.g., AC/BC) and Linear Series (LS; AB/BC). Although positive equivalence class formation outcomes are often quite robust and reliable in many studies, some have found different results with diverse participant populations that
2012
found evidence that the level of functional transfer is higher in equivalence classes generated by delayed matching to sample (DMTS) than in classes generated by simultaneous matching (SMTS). We attempted to replicate these findings with the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP). Two experimental groups established two equivalence classes, each comprised of faces expressing either anger or happiness and nonsense words. The classes were established with SMTS for one group and with DMTS for the other. Then, nonsense words and the faces were respectively presented as "attribute" and target stimuli in IRAP tasks. The DMTS group yielded the expected IRAP effect; the SMTS group yielded an IRAP effect only when the target was a happy face. It is discussed that DMTS can enhance transfer of "semantic" functions between equivalent stimuli, supporting the idea that the relatedness of stimuli can vary as a function of experimental parameters.