Abstract
Symmetric and transitive stimulus control within four- and five-term contingencies were studied for five adult subjects. Four-term conditional stimulus relations consisted of two sets of four Greek letters (A1, B1, C1, D1; A2, B2, C2, D2) each related within a match-to-sample paradigm. Five-term relations consisted of additional stimuli (geometric figures) which functioned to alternate A1 and A2 class membership—that is, given Figure 1, A1 was related to B1, C1, D1; whereas, given Figure 2, A1 was related to B2, C2, D2. Three subjects were taught in a five-/four-term sequence, and two subjects were taught in a four-/five-term sequence. The results indicate that the order in which the four- and five-term relations were taught differentially influenced the emergence of transitive, but not symmetric, relationships.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
DEVANY, J. M., HAYES, S. C., & NELSON, R. O. (1986). Equivalence class formation in language-able and language-disabled children. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 46, 243–258.
DUBE, W. V., MCILVANE, W. J., MACKEY, H. A., & STODDARD, L. T. (1987). Stimulus class membership established via stimulus-reinforcer relations. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 47, 159–175.
FIELDS, L., & VERHAVE, T. (1987). The structure of equivalence classes. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 48, 317–332.
FIELDS, L., VERHAVE, T., & FATH, S. (1984). Stimulus equivalence and transitive associations: A methodological analysis. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 42, 143–157.
GREENWAY, D. E., HAYES, S. C., BROWNSTEIN, A. J., & ZETTLE, R. D. (1987, May). An experimental analysis of self-rules. In J. S. Danforth (Chair), Rule-governed behavior: Basic research and applied implications. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavior Analysis, Nashville, TN.
HONIG, W. K., & URCUIOLI, P. J. (1981). The legacy of Guttman and Kalish (1956): 25 years of research on stimulus generalization. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 36, 405–445.
LAZAR, R. M., DAVIS-LANG, D., & SANCHEZ, L. (1984). The formation of visual stimulus equivalence in children. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 41, 251–266.
LAZAR, R. M., & KOTLARCHYK, B. J. (1986). Second-order control of sequence-class equivalences in children. Behavioral Processes, 12, 205–213.
MACKINTOSH, J. H. (1977). Stimulus control: Attentional factors. In W. K. Honig & J. E. R. Staddon (Eds.), Handbook of operant behavior. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
MCILVANE, W. J., KLEDARAS, J. B., MUNSON, L. C., KING, K. A. J., DE ROSE, J. C., & STODDARD, L. T. (1987). Controlling relations in conditional discrimination and matching by exclusion. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 48, 187–208.
SAUNDERS, R. R., WACHTER, J., & SPRADLIN, J. E. (1988). Establishing auditory stimulus control over an eight-member equivalence class via conditional discrimination procedures. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 49, 95–115.
SIDMAN, M. (1979). Remarks. Behaviorism, 7, 123–126.
SIDMAN, M. (1986). Functional analysis of emergent verbal classes. In T. Thompson & M. D. Zeiler (Eds.), Analysis and integration of behavioral units. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
SIDMAN, M., KIRK, B., & WILLSON-MORRIS, M. (1985). Six-member stimulus classes generated by conditional-discrimination procedures. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 43, 21–42.
SIDMAN, M., & TAILBY, W. (1982). Conditional discrimination vs. matching to sample: An expansion of the testing paradigm. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 37, 5–22.
SPRADLIN, J. E., COTTER, V. W., & BRAXLEY, N. (1973). Establishing conditional discriminations without direct training: A study of transfer with retarded adolescents. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 77, 556–566.
SPRADLIN, J. E., & SAUNDERS, R. R. (1984). Behaving appropriately in new situations: A stimulus class analysis. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 88, 574–579.
STROMER, R. (1986). Control by exclusion in arbitrary matching-to-sample. Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 6, 59–72.
WETHERBY, B., KARLAN, G. R., & SPRADLIN, J. E. (1983). The development of derived stimulus relations through training in arbitrary-matching sequences. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 40, 69–78.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Portions of this study were presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavior Analysis in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1987. We thank Drs. Thomas Haring and Robert Koegel for their helpful suggestions on earlier versions of this manuscript and Elizabeth Fouriner for her assistance in conducting the study. The contributions of both authors to this investigation are equal.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kennedy, C.H., Laitinen, R. Second-Order Conditional Control of Symmetric and Transitive Stimulus Relations: The Influence of Order Effects. Psychol Rec 38, 437–446 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395035
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395035