Abstract
This study investigated a novel method for implementing programs of graduated stimulus change aimed at teaching arbitrary matching to children—stimulus fading in this case. Whereas typical fading programs arrange graduated stimulus change across trials, our method used computer animation to arrange stimulus changes within trials. Thus, children could observe stimuli changing dynamically rather than statically as in typical fading procedures. We hypothesized that dynamic stimulus change would likely prove superior to static change. When dynamic versus static fading procedures were compared, however, both procedures yielded similar, variable learning outcomes. Nevertheless, our study showed that dynamic fading was feasible, perhaps setting the stage for further research to assess whether variations in the parameters of dynamic fading might lead to greater successes.
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None of the authors of this manuscript have any conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise. The article reports original data from an ongoing program of behavioral research. The products of this research do not constitute intellectual property for any of the authors or for any of the universities that hosted this research.
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This research was approved by the Human Studies institutional review board of the Universidade Federal de São Carlos (Ethics Committee, Opinion no. 966.535). Informed consent was obtained with all children from people with authority to give it.
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Preparation for archival data sharing is underway, and information on data retrieval will be provided upon request. Stimulus materials are described in the manuscript and will be provided for inspection upon request. These will include sample videos of the animations captured from the software in operation.
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The present study was supported by research grants from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq grant 465686/2014-1), the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, grant 2014/50909-8), and Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES, grant #88887.136407/2017-00). The research also received funding from the U. S. National Institute of Mental Health (MH90272). The authors gratefully acknowledge the collegial assistance of Dr. Carol Pilgrim who read an earlier version of the manuscript and made many comments that helped improve the presentation and readability of the article.
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Kawasaki, H.N., da Silva Ferreira, M., de Rose, F.S. et al. A Case History on Shaping Technique Development: Dynamic Stimulus Control Shaping. Psychol Rec 71, 337–348 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00426-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-020-00426-x