Effects of instructed visual imagining on emergent conditional discriminations

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Behavioral Psychology

Background:

• Derived stimulus relations are crucial for complex human cognition.
• Visual imagining is hypothesized to support the formation of these relations.
• Understanding factors that facilitate derived relations is key to cognitive development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if instructing visual imagining during training enhances emergent visual-visual conditional discriminations.
• To determine the impact of visual imagery on the acquisition of derived stimulus relations.
• To assess the independence of this effect from baseline training retention.

Main Methods:

• Adult participants (n=75) underwent baseline tact and intraverbal training to establish conditional discriminations.
• Participants were assigned to groups, with one group receiving instructions to visualize stimuli during intraverbal training.
• Emergent visual-visual conditional discriminations were tested using an image-matching task (AB/BA).

Main Results:

• Instructions to visualize images during intraverbal training significantly improved performance on the emergent visual-visual conditional discrimination test.
• This facilitation effect was observed despite no significant difference in participants' self-reported visual imagining.
• The positive effect on emergent responding was independent of participants' performance on baseline retention measures.

Conclusions:

• Instructing visual imagining during training is an effective method for enhancing emergent visual-visual conditional discriminations.
• The findings suggest a direct role for visual imagery in the formation of derived stimulus relations, beyond conscious report.
• This research contributes to understanding the mechanisms underlying complex learning and cognitive flexibility.