A Transfer of Functions and a Conditional Transfer of Functions Through Equivalence Relations in Three-To Six-Year-Old Children

Abstract

Six children, aged between 3 years and 6 years were trained to form two, three member equivalence relations (A1-B1-C1 and A2-B2-C2). Clapping was then reinforced in the presence of B1, and waving was reinforced in the presence of B2. During testing, all children showed the predicted transfer of discriminative functions through equivalence to the C stimuli (i.e., C1 evoked clapping and C2 evoked waving). Three control subjects of similar ages, who were trained in the conditional discriminations and tested for equivalence using different arbitrary stimuli for C1 and C2, failed to show this transfer of functions. All nine children (six experimental and three control) were also exposed to conditional discriminative function training. That is, clapping was reinforced when B1 was presented in the presence of the spoken word “Yellow,” and waving was reinforced when B1 was presented in the presence of the spoken word “Blue.” In contrast, waving was reinforced when B2 was presented in the presence of the spoken word “Yellow,” and clapping was reinforced when B2 was presented in the presence of the spoken word “Blue.” During testing, the contextual stimuli were presented in visual form only. Two four-year-old children and one six-year-old child (experimental subjects) showed the predicted conditional transfer of control through equivalence relations to the C stimuli (Yellow/C1→cllapping, Blue/C1→waving, Yellow/ C2→waving, and Blue/C2→clapping), whereas the four- and six-year-old control subjects did not. The three-year-old subjects (both control and experimental) refused to complete the study.