Effects of speaker coherence and relational complexity on listener preference for the speaker and rule-following.

• Grant number: 25/13022-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Júlio César Coelho de Rose
• Grantee: Artur Lucchese Velozo
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Rules are verbal stimuli that specify functional relationships between stimuli and responses, altering the function of these variables within a given contingency. The likelihood that a listener will follow rules issued by a speaker can be influenced by the speaker's history of emitting stimulus relations. When the speaker emits stimulus relations previously learned by the listener, the speaker can be considered coherent. Additionally, the nodal distance of a stimulus relation affects performance in preference and transfer of function tests. These effects suggest that nodal distance may be a relevant variable for rule-following, as well as a potential indicator of the relational complexity involved. The aim of this investigation is to analyze the effects of speaker coherence and relational complexity on speaker preference and rule-following by listeners. Participants will perform computerized tasks to: (1) train stimulus relations; (2) test the learning of the relations; (3) familiarize participants with the subsequent phase; (4) establish relational histories of two speakers, represented by digital characters emitting stimulus relations; and (5) measure speaker preference and rule-following. Experiments 1 and 2 will investigate speakers with different relative levels of coherence (75% vs. 25% and 75% vs. 50%, respectively), while Experiment 3 will employ coherent speakers emitting relations with varying levels of complexity (different nodal distances and equivalence class sizes). Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses will be conducted to assess preference and rule-following. (AU)