Contextual Control of Equivalence Classes Established through Stimulus Pairing

• Grant number: 24/21967-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: July 15, 2025
• End date: April 14, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Salvador Caetano
• Grantee: Giovan Willian Ribeiro
• Supervisor: Daniel M Fienup
• Host Institution: Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição (CMCC). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Teachers College Columbia University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/00440-5 - Assessing the N400 component via manipulation of reinforcement contingencies underlying equivalence relations: effects of using meaningful stimuli, BP.PD

Abstract

Contextual control is fundamental to symbolic behavior, as it allows learned relations to vary according to environmental cues. Stimulus equivalence studies often employ matching-to-sample (MTS) procedures, but recent calls for more naturalistic approaches suggest that stimulus pairing may better mirror the incidental learning contexts found in daily life. This study aims to investigate whether equivalence classes established through a stimulus pairing procedure can be contextually controlled. The experiment will involve three phases to examine the establishment and contextual control of equivalence classes in the presence of specific background colors. In the first phase, participants will undergo stimulus-stimulus pairings to form AB and AC relations against a blue background, followed by MTS tests for emergent BC and CB relations. In the second phase, the background color will change to red, and the AB pairings will be reversed to investigate whether the red background can bring new equivalence classes under contextual control. Finally, in the third phase, an Equivalence Contextual Test will present BC and CB relations, half of which will appear on a blue background and half on a red background, assessing whether background color functions as a contextual cue for equivalence class activation. A Symmetry Contextual Test will further examine whether contextual control is exerted over symmetry relations or if the red background instead establishes a "reject control" over previously established blue background relations. Findings are expected to clarify how context can organize equivalence classes, highlighting the adaptability of symbolic relations in varied situations.