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Derived relational responding
as generalized operant behavior: the
effects of feedback on the component operants of stimulus equivalence
Olive Healy and Dermot
Barnes-Holmes
Glasheen Girls National School
and National University of Ireland, Ireland
Four experiments examined the
effects of differential consequences on derived relational responding.
Subjects were trained and tested for the formation of two combinatorially
entailed relations. This was followed by training and testing
for a transfer of function using the same stimuli. Training and
testing constituted one session. During each session, subjects
learned a novel set of interrelated conditional discriminations
(i.e., using
novel stimuli). In Experiment 1, both Conditions 1 and 2 involved
explicit feedback on test performances. In Condition 1, feedback
was accurate following both tests for combinatorial entailment
and transfer of function until subjects responding reached a
predefined stability criterion. The feedback then switched to
inaccurate following the test for transfer of function and remained
accurate following the test for combinatorial entailment until
responding once again reached a predefined criterion. Condition
2 was similar to Condition 1, except that once the stability
criterion was reached feedback switched to inaccurate following
the test for combinatorial entailment and remained accurate following
the test for transfer of function. The results showed that once
relational responding emerged and stabilised, switching in responding
readily occurred in
accordance with the feedback delivered. Experiment 2 was identical
to Experiment 1, except that an ABA design was employed using
differential consequences. Experiment 3 was similar to Experiment
2, except that it involved ABCA and ACBA designs. Experiment
4 used differential consequences to fracture congruent patterns
of responding on tests for mutual entailment, combinatorial entailment
and transfer of function.
Keywords: derived relational
responding, feedback, fracture |