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New Variations for Strategy Set-shifting in the Rat
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Function-altering effects of contingency-specifying stimuli.

H Schlinger, E Blakely

    The Behavior Analyst
    |April 6, 2012
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    Contingency-specifying stimuli (CSSs) alter how other stimuli function, changing behavioral relationships. This concept impacts understanding rules, stimulus equivalence, and basic behavioral processes like reinforcement and punishment.

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    Area of Science:

    • Behavioral science
    • Experimental analysis of behavior

    Background:

    • Discriminative stimuli evoke behavior based on training history.
    • Contingency-specifying stimuli (CSSs) modify the function of other stimuli.
    • CSSs differ fundamentally from discriminative stimuli in their behavioral effects.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To differentiate the function-altering properties of CSSs from traditional discriminative stimuli.
    • To explore the broad implications of CSSs across various behavioral concepts.
    • To provide a framework for understanding how stimuli can change the function of other stimuli.

    Main Methods:

    • Conceptual analysis of stimulus function.
    • Review of existing literature on discriminative and conditional stimuli.
    • Examination of the role of CSSs in behavioral relations.

    Main Results:

    • CSSs alter the evocative function of discriminative and conditional stimuli.
    • CSSs modify the efficacy of reinforcing and punishing stimuli.
    • CSSs impact stimuli involved in second-order respondent conditioning.

    Conclusions:

    • The concept of function-altering CSSs offers a novel perspective on stimulus control.
    • CSSs have significant implications for understanding stimulus equivalence and rule-governance.
    • Re-evaluating basic behavioral processes through the lens of CSSs is crucial for behavior analysis.