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| International Symposium - Evaluating Alternative Procedures to Establish Stimulus Control with Complex Stimuli |
| Monday, May 28, 2007 |
| 3:00 PM–4:20 PM |
| Del Mar AB |
| Area: EAB; Domain: Basic Research |
| Chair: Martha Hübner (Universidade de São Paulo) |
| Abstract: Four studies with alternative procedures with complex stimuli to establish stimulus control will be described and analyzed. In spite of the fact that each study had different objective, all of them analyzed different procedures with complex stimuli. These studies evaluated complex control manipulating different parameters such as density of reinforcement, duration of stimuli presentation, and the use of differential reinforcement procedure. Besides that, one of the studies analyzed the transfer of stimulus control to another operant. The results have implications to the future development of procedures to establish complex control in different research areas. |
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| Effects of the Reinforcement of Equivalence Relations upon the Minimal Units Control in Reading. |
| MARTHA HÜBNER (Universidade de São Paulo), Augusto Amato (Universidade de São Paulo), Candido Pessoa (Universidade de São Paulo), Katia Verniano (Universidade de São Paulo), Mariana Leite (Universidade de São Paulo), Maira Cantarelli Baptistussi (Universidade de São Paulo), Renata Gomes (Universidade de São Paulo) |
| Abstract: The relations between equivalence relations and minimal verbal unit control in reading are not clear yet. The former requires reading comprehension and the latter textual behavior. The present study had the objective to verify the effects of training equivalence relations upon the acquisition of minimal verbal unit control in reading. There were a direct train of the relations that are normally tested in the literature. Two subjects were participants, with four to five years old, illiterate. A computerized teaching program and test were conducted (EQUIV). It involves the acquisition of reading through Sidman´s stimulus equivalence paradigm and tests of minimal verbal units control. The experimental variable of the present study was the modification of the learning criteria (that changed from 0 to 100% of correct responses required) and the consequent presentation of reinforcement during Equivalence Tests which turned to be Equivalence Training. Comparing these results with the one of Matos and Hübner studies (2002), training equivalence relations didn’t increase the performance during minimal verbal units tests. With this, it can be concluded that the density of reinforcement was not a critical variable to establish minimal verbal unit control in reading, but was an important change to decrease performance variability. |
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| Effects of Differential Reinforcement of Choosing Phrases about Reading upon the Emission and Duration of Reading Behavior. |
| MARTHA HÜBNER (Universidade de São Paulo), Thaís Cazati (Universidade de São Paulo) |
| Abstract: The objective of the present study was to verify the effect of differential reinforcement of one class of response (choosing phrases in favor of reading) upon another one (reading behavior). Through a simple discrimination procedure, choices of phrases with content in favor of reading were differentially reinforced. Six children from second level of primary school were participants. In three sessions of baseline, time of engagement in four activities were evaluated (playing, painting, reading and to mould). During training, four phrases were presented in a computer screen, and the choice of the phrase about reading was reinforced with points which were exchanged by toys. Following this, participants were submitted to the Post-Test, identical to the baseline. The results show that the control of the phrases about reading (complex stimuli) were transferred to the control of real objects and enhanced the behavior of reading: after training, the six participants chose the activity of reading with more frequency and with more time of engagement. Stimulus equivalence class (phrases - the books and the reading behavior) could have been formed through the simple discrimination and baseline procedures. The present study also has implications to the say – do correspondence research area. |
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| Conditional Discrimination with Compound Stimulus: Improving Testing Performances. |
| PAULA DEBERT (Universidade de São Paulo), Paulo Toshio Missao (Universidade de São Paulo), Jonas de Oliveira Boni Jr. (Universidade de São Paulo) |
| Abstract: Past studies established emergent conditional relations using a go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli. These emergent relations were observed only in the last block of Transitive and Equivalence Test. The present study investigated whether emergent relations would be detected early in the first test block if compound stimuli remained on computer screen for a longer time during tests. This evaluation was conducted with three naive college students. During training, each compound stimulus was presented successively at the computer screen for four seconds. Responses emitted in the presence of certain compound stimuli (A1B1, A2B2, A3B3, B1C1, B2C2 and B3C3) were reinforced; while responses emitted in the presence of others (A1B2, A1B3, A2B1, A2B3, A3B1, A3B2, B1C2, B1C3, B2C1, B2C3, B3C1 and B3C2) were not. During tests, new configurations (BA, CB, AC, and CA) were presented resembling tests usually employed in equivalence studies. Each of these compound stimuli was presented for eight seconds during tests. All participants showed emergent relations and two in three participants revealed emergence of Transitivity and Equivalence relations in the first block of the tests. These results indicate that emergent relations may be detected early in testing when compound stimulus remained for a longer time on the screen. |
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| Conditional Discrimination with Compound Stimulus: Improving Training Performances. |
| PAULA DEBERT (Universidade de São Paulo), Ana Priscila Batista (Universidade de São Paulo), Emiliane Oliveira (Universidade de São Paulo), Mariana Samelo (Universidade de São Paulo), Thrissy Maestri (Universidade de São Paulo) |
| Abstract: Past studies established emergent conditional relations using a go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli. During training, each compound stimulus was presented successively at the computer screen for four seconds. Responses emitted in the presence of certain compound stimuli (A1B1, A2B2, A3B3, B1C1, B2C2 and B3C3) were reinforced; while responses emitted in the presence of others (A1B2, A1B3, A2B1, A2B3, A3B1, A3B2, B1C2, B1C3, B2C1, B2C3, B3C1 and B3C2) were not. During tests, new configurations (BA, CB, AC, and CA) were presented resembling tests usually employed in equivalence studies. The present study evaluated whether a faster acquisition of the trained relations would be produced if reinforcement was provided also for not responding in the presence of A1B2, A1B3, A2B1, A2B3, A3B1, A3B2, B1C2, B1C3, B2C1, B2C3, B3C1 and B3C2 compound stimuli. After training, the participants were submitted to tests of emergent relations. This evaluation was conducted with three naive college students. All participant showed faster acquisition of training performances and emergent relations during testing. |
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