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Competing Arbitrary and Nonarbitrary Stimulus Relations: The Effect of Exemplar Training in Adult Participants

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Abstract

Background

The current study sought to extend the work of Stewart et al. (The Psychological Record, 52, 77–88, 2002) by investigating the effects of differing histories with regard to color on participant’s equivalence test performances.

Method

Thirty-two university students were divided into four groups exposed to different training procedures, but all were subsequently exposed to an identical equivalence test using colored stimuli (either red or green). Initially, participants were divided into two groups, one receiving training with stimuli colored either red or green (the All Color group), while the other received training with stimuli colored only black (Color Test group). In addition, half of the participants in both groups were exposed to exemplar training procedures (Exemplar Training groups), with the remaining participants simply receiving repeated test exposures (Repeat Groups).

Results

Results showed that participants in the All Color groups produced higher equivalence responding relative to participants in Color Test groups.

Conclusion

Exemplar training was shown to be effective in promoting equivalence responding only for participants in the All Color groups.

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Correspondence to Neil Kenny.

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Kenny, N., Devlin, S., Barnes-Holmes, D. et al. Competing Arbitrary and Nonarbitrary Stimulus Relations: The Effect of Exemplar Training in Adult Participants. Psychol Rec 64, 53–61 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-014-0004-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-014-0004-4

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