Relating in the Wild: Toward an Analysis of Equivalence Relations Under More Naturalistic Conditions

Since the first proposal 50 years ago, numerous experiments have documented how arbitrarily related stimuli can become functionally interchangeable. These studies have sought to understand how different variables can moderate the probability of equivalence class formation. However, the well-established evidence regarding this phenomenon in experimental settings does not necessarily guarantee an understanding about how equivalence relations are produced in natural settings. In typical experiments, experimenters control critical variables to produce equivalence relations, such as, the requirement of proficiency with baseline relations, the number of opportunities to relate two or more stimuli, the efforts to promote stimulus control topography coherent with the experimenter-defined relations, etc. All these variables, however, are not controlled in our daily lives. The present article elucidates how some differences between experimental and natural settings can likely affect how the phenomenon of equivalence relations can occur in noncontrolled, naturalistic environments. Furthermore, we suggest new areas of research to promote the generalization of basic experimental data to contingencies in our daily lives.