Stimulus Control in Children under a Blocking Paradigm

Abstract

LYCZAK, RicHARD, and TIGHE, THOMAS. Stimulus Control in Children under a Blocking Paradigm. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1975, 46, 115-122. An analogue of Kamin's 3-phase blocking design was applied in 4 experiments dealing with concept identification in children. During Phase I experimental Ss sorted multidimensional stimulus cards with dimension A relevant, while control Ss received identical training except with dimension C relevant. During Phase II both groups sorted identical stimulus cards with dimension A and a newly introduced dimension, B, both relevant. Phase III comprised tests for the control exerted by A and B, and the interest was in whether prior training on A had blocked the acquisition of stimulus control by B during Phase II training. While blocking was observed in children's learning, the data indicate that it is a low-probability event in these Ss and requires special testing conditions for its detection.