Generalization of a voluntary response as a function of presentation frequency of the training stimulus in testing

Abstract

Frequency of presentation of the original training stimulus in the test phase of a study of human voluntary generalization was found to affect the form of the generalization gradient on a weight dimension. That is, in a situation in which all of the additional test stimuli are larger than the original training stimulus, and all stimuli are presented with equal frequency, a tendency to choose stimuli toward the middle of the test range as the original was observed However, if the original stimulus was presented more frequently than any of the other stimuli in testing, Ss tended to choose the original “correctly,” yielding a “typical” unidirectional generalization gradient.