Abstract
In two experiments, college students were required to make intradimensional (ID) or extradimensional (ED) shifts when potential confounding factors were eliminated through the use of a total change design and symbolic (word) stimuli. Results indicated that an ID shift was learned significantly faster than an ED shift, whether geometric or symbolic stimuli were employed. Original learning with both classes of stimuli was found to be comparable. Evidence was lacking for the hypothesis that a nonmediational process, such as primary stimulus generalization, accounted for ID shift superiority. The results were interpreted as supporting a two-stage mediational explanation of human discrimination learning.
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Gersten, C. D. Comparison of intradimensional and extra-dimensional shifts using a total change design. Unpublished manuscript, Arizona State University, 1971.
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The authors wish to thank Linda McElwain who served as the experimenter. A brief version of Experiment I was presented at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association in San Antonio, April, 1971.
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Kennedy, T.D., Gersten, C.D. Comparison of intradimensional and extradimensional shifts using geometric and symbolic stimuli. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 7, 458–460 (1976). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337246
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337246