SELECT AND REJECT CONTROLS IN CONDITIONAL DISCRIMINATION TRAINING AND EQUIVALENCE TESTS

Abstract

Failures in equivalence class formation have been explained, occasionally, as a function of stimulus controls (or stimulus control topographies) that occur during the conditional discrimination training and in the equivalence tests. The present article aims to present, didactically, the implications of two particular stimulus controls, the selection of the programmed S+ and the rejection of the S- to the formation of equivalence classes in matching-to-sample tasks involving two comparison stimuli. Thus, it is presented, after a brief review of the equivalence literature, the theoretical analysis by Carrigan and Sidman (1992) and the experimental results that support it directly. Finally, recent data are discussed in regard to possible future researches that would isolate the establishment of different stimulus controls.Key words: stimulus control topographies, select control, reject control, stimulus equivalence, matching to sample.