ESTABLISHMENT AND REORGANIZATION OF DERIVED ARBITRARY RELATIONS FOLLOWING IDENTITY MATCHING-TO-SAMPLE TRAINING WITH SPECIFIC CONSEQUENCES

Abstract

In Experiment 1, six participants were given identity matching to sample (IDMTS) training that established the stimulus- stimulus relations A1A1, A2A2, A3A3; B1B1, B2B2, B3B3; and C1C1, C2C2, C3C3. Correct responses resulted in presentations of class-specific consequences, Sr1, Sr2, and Sr3. Consummatory responses to the class-specific consequences were required to collect points on training trials. Subsequent tests used arbitrary matching to sample to confirm the formation of three equivalence classes, A1B1C1Sr1, A2B2C2Sr2, and A3B3C3Sr3. Next, IDMTS, with the specific consequences, was used to train D1D1, D2D2 and D3D3 relations. These D stimuli were pictures of human faces portraying happiness (D1), sadness (D2), and neutrality (D3). Finally, tests used semantic differential ratings to document transfer of functions (i.e., “meanings”) of the D stimuli to the C stimuli and to the Sr1 and Sr3 stimuli, in accord with class membership. These results suggest expansion of the ABCSr classes to include the meaningful D stimuli (i.e., A1B1C1D1Sr1, A2B2C2D2Sr2, and A3B3C3D3Sr3). Experiment 2 verified that, for five participants, reversals of the class-specific consequences Sr1 and Sr2 with respect to stimuli C1, and C2, and D1 and D2, gave rise to the two reorganized equivalence classes A1B1C2D2Sr2 and A2B2C1D1Sr1. Semantic differential ratings then documented reversals of the meanings given to stimuli C1 and C2. Also, semantic differential ratings documented the reversals of the meanings of C stimuli in accordance with their reorganized class-memberships with D stimuli. However, analogous reversals of function transfer were not observed for the class-specific consequences. Key words: Identity matching-to-sample, class-specific consequences, equivalence classes, reorganization of equivalence classes, transfer of functions, undergraduates.