Emergent Relational Responding Based upon Quantity and Equivalence

Abstract

Across four phases, we sought to establish performances for 3 subjects (a 7-year-old child and 2 adults) demonstrating emergent stimulus relations based upon quantity and equivalence. In Phase 1, a single-sample/single-comparison procedure was used to train A-B and B-“Q” conditional discriminations that resulted in the demonstration of 2 three-member equivalence classes. The “Q” stimulus for Stimulus Class 1 (Q2) was comprised of two dots; for Stimulus Class 2 the “Q” stimulus (Q12) was comprised of 12 dots. In Phase 2, simple discriminations were trained among the original two “Q” stimuli and two novel “Q” stimuli comprised of intermediate numbers of dots (Q6 = 6; Q8 = 8). Initially, when presented with two differing “Q” stimuli, a subject was required to select the stimulus with the greater number of dots. Once established, this discrimination was reversed (i.e., select the lesser quantity) and re-reversed until a subject’s discriminative performance was readily altered. We then presented subjects with A and B stimuli as samples and various arrangements of “Q” stimuli as comparisons in a single-sample/two-comparison procedure with no programmed consequences. All subjects selected comparisons comprised of a lesser quantity when presented with samples from Stimulus Class 1 and vice versa for samples from Stimulus Class 2. In addition, one subject was tested further to extend her relational performance to novel “Q” stimuli (Q1 = 1 dot; Q18 = 18 dots), demonstrating relative stimulus class membership for Q2 and Q12 stimuli. In Phase 3, A-C conditional discriminations were trained using procedures similar to Phase 1. Subsequent tests (Phases 3 and 4) demonstrated transfer of function through stimulus classes of equivalence and quantity relations to the C stimuli.