Emergent reading after establhishing word-picture relations with a stimulus pairing procedure

• Grant number: 25/21373-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Deisy das Graças de Souza
• Grantee: Giulia Mengatto
• Supervisor: Erik Arntzen
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Oslo Metropolitan University (OSLOMET), Norway
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/00497-7 - Assessment of reading learning and recombinative generalization by a stimulus pairing procedure, BP.IC

Abstract

This project aims to investigate the emergence of textual behavior and recombinative generalization through a stimulus-stimulus pairing (S-S) procedure with an orienting response and its relations with the paradigm of equivalence. Based on Sidman's (1994) equivalence theory and Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior, reading can emerge from previously established conditional relations, potentially without direct reinforcement for textual responses. Previous findings (e.g., Leader et al., 1996; Ribeiro et al., 2020) indicate that S-S pairing procedures can generate emergent reading in individuals with and without reading difficulties, but further investigation is needed to clarify their efficiency and generalization potential. In Brazil, the student is currently conducting an experiment with typically developing children to assess the effectiveness of S-S pairing in establish baseline relations and promote recombinative generalization to words not taught directly. The proposed internship abroad will be conducted at Oslo Metropolitan University, under the supervision of experts on stimulus equivalence and reading acquisition. This international collaboration will enable the analysis and discussion of the current experiment in a diverse cultural and linguistic context, applying advanced data analysis methods and contributing to the refinement of behavior-analytic procedures for textual behavior. The expected outcome is to provide empirical evidence on the viability of S-S pairing as a low-response-demand alternative for reading instruction, with implications for educational practices in different settings. (AU)