A functional-analytic model of analogy using the Relational Evaluation Procedure

Abstract

Analogical reasoning is conceptualized by Relational Frame Theory as responding in accordance with an equivalence relation between equivalence or other types of derived stimulus relations. The purpose of this study was to provide an empirical demonstration of analogy using the Relational Evaluation Procedure (REP), a recently developed technique for the rapid training and testing of derived stimulus relations. The experiment involved 9 stages in which 5 adult male subjects were exposed to a complex series of REP training and testing protocols, by the end of which they each readily demonstrated 24 completely novel instances of responding in accordance with analogical relations as conceptualized by RFT. The implications of these results for future functional analytic investigations of analogical reasoning are discussed.