Select and reject conditional control on matching to sample and stimulus equivalence

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Learning Theory
• Stimulus Control

Background:

• Equivalence relations are a key concept in behavioral psychology, demonstrating how arbitrary stimuli can form classes.
• The standard matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure is commonly used to establish these relations.
• Carrigan and Sidman (1992) hypothesized that MTS training relies solely on acquiring specific conditional relations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test Carrigan and Sidman's (1992) hypothesis regarding equivalence relation emergence in MTS.
• To differentiate between processes leading to equivalence formation.
• To investigate the role of select and reject conditional relations in MTS training.

Main Methods:

• Four groups of participants received different training conditions: standard MTS, exclusive-select-relations, exclusive-reject-relations, and detached-MTS (both select and reject relations).
• Participants were tested on properties of equivalence relations (reflexivity, symmetry, transitivity/equivalence).
• Novel stimuli were introduced during testing to assess stimulus control.

Main Results:

• Equivalence emergence was significantly more frequent in the detached-MTS group.
• Participants in the standard-MTS group who demonstrated equivalence showed test results with novel stimuli more akin to the detached-MTS group.
• Results indicated that exclusive select control may lead to pseudoequivalence, while joint select and reject control fosters authentic equivalence classes.

Conclusions:

• The standard MTS procedure appears to more reliably promote the authentic formation of equivalence classes.
• Compliance with equivalence criteria may mask distinct underlying processes: pseudoequivalence and true equivalence class formation.
• Effective equivalence class formation likely depends on both select and reject conditional control.