Effects of orientation and differential reinforcement on transitive stimulus control

Autor(es)

Amd, Micah ^{[1, 2]} ; de Almeida, Joao H. ^[1] ; de Rose, Julio C. ^[1] ; Silveira, Carolina C. ^[1] ; Pompermaier, Henrique M. ^[3]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] McGill Univ, Dept Neurol, Montreal Neurol Inst, Montreal, PQ - Canada

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Psychol, Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Norte, Dept Psychol, Natal, RN - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Behavioural Processes; v. 144, p. 58-65, NOV 2017.
• Citações Web of Science: 3

Resumo

The emergence of transitive relations between stimuli that had never appeared together is a key process underlying concept formation. An unresolved theoretical issue with respect to transitive relations has been to determine whether differential reinforcement of stimulus-stimulus (S-S) relations though matching-to-sample, or contiguous S-S correlations/pairings, is more critical for producing transitivity. The current study inquired whether simple environmental S-S pairings, versus differential reinforcement of S-S relations, versus environmental S-S pairings with an orientation requirement, produced the greatest instances of transitivity. 12 groups of participants were parsed into one of four procedures (matching-to-sample, stimulus-paring, stimulus-pairing-w/response, stimulus-pairing-w/orientation) along one of three training structures (linear, many-to-one, one-to many). All participants underwent a fixed number of training trials for establishing three, three-member stimulus sets (A1B1C1, A2B2C2, A3B3C3), followed by a single sorting test for AC transitivity. Our results demonstrate orienting towards environmental S-S pairings yield the greatest degree of transitivity. The effectivity of pairing procedures for establishing transitive relations, particularly when compared to matching-to-sample, can inform the development of educational interventions for individuals for whom the latter procedure (involving differential reinforcement) is ineffective. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 15/24159-4 - Efeitos do atraso sobre o decaimento de funções de valência condicionada e derivada
• Beneficiário: Micah Ahmad
• Linha de fomento: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado