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ERRORLESS ESTABLISHMENT OF VISUAL DISCRIMINATION USING FADING PROCEDURES.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|May 1, 1964
Summary
Preschool children struggled with visual form discrimination. However, using brightness cues initially, researchers successfully trained them to recognize the correct triangle shape, demonstrating effective stimulus control transfer.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Visual discrimination is crucial for learning and development.
- Preschool children often face challenges with tasks requiring fine visual distinctions.
- Understanding how to establish and transfer stimulus control is key in behavioral research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effectiveness of brightness cues in establishing visual form discrimination in preschool children.
- To examine the transfer of stimulus control from a salient feature (brightness) to a less salient one (form).
Main Methods:
- A visual discrimination task was designed using triangle shapes with slight rotational differences.
- Initial training utilized a brightness difference between the correct sample and distractors.
- The brightness difference was gradually reduced until stimuli were equally bright, testing for form discrimination maintenance.
Main Results:
- Preschool children initially found form discrimination difficult.
- Discrimination was readily achieved when the correct triangle was brighter than the incorrect ones.
- The discrimination ability, initially based on brightness, was successfully maintained even when brightness differences were eliminated, showing transfer to form.
Conclusions:
- Brightness cues can be effectively used to establish visual form discrimination in young children.
- Stimulus control can be successfully transferred from a salient feature to a less salient one, like shape.
- This methodology offers a promising approach for teaching visual discrimination skills to children.