Verbal Mediation During Auditory Equivalence Class Formation Using Go/No-Go Successive Matching-to-Sample

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Successive matching-to-sample (S-MTS) with go/no-go responses establishes equivalence classes with auditory stimuli.
• Verbalizing during posttests (protocol analysis) usually aligns with performance but can sometimes lower equivalence yields.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of talk-aloud requirements on auditory-stimulus equivalence class formation.
• To explore the role of verbal mediation in equivalence by assessing tact and intraverbal behavior.
• To replicate and extend previous findings on S-MTS and protocol analysis.

Main Methods:

• Participants completed emergence posttests before protocol analysis training.
• An equivalence posttest was administered with a talk-aloud requirement.
• Tact and intraverbal tests were conducted post-emergence to assess verbal mediation.

Main Results:

• Six of eight college students successfully formed equivalence classes.
• The talk-aloud requirement did not appear to interfere with equivalence formation when introduced after initial testing.
• A positive correlation was observed between verbal and nonverbal (selection) responses.

Conclusions:

• Equivalence class formation is possible with auditory stimuli and go/no-go S-MTS.
• Previous difficulties with talk-aloud requirements might stem from their timing during testing.
• Verbal mediation may play a role in the development of stimulus equivalence.