The effects of outcome reversals on children's conditional discrimination, equivalence, and reinforcer-probe performances
- UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Natalie B. Jacome (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
- Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/
- Advisor
- Carol Pilgrim
Abstract: Previous studies have shown that class-specific reinforcers are critical not only to the
establishment but also to the maintenance of conditional discriminations. However, this effect
has yet to be tested with humans. In Experiment 1, normally capable children were trained to
perform two arbitrary conditional discriminations (AB and AC) with class-specific reinforcers.
Selections of B1, B2, or B3 given A1, A2, or A3, respectively, produced R1, R2, or R3,
respectively. Upon mastery, the reinforcement contingencies were reversed such that selections
of B1, B2, or B3 given A1, A2, or A3, respectively, now produced R2, R3, or R1, respectively.
Next, selections of C1, C2, or C3 given A1, A2, or A3, respectively, produced R1, R2, or R3,
respectively; but again, upon mastery, the reinforcement contingencies were reversed such that
selections of C1, C2, or C3 given A1, A2, or A3, respectively, now produced R3, R1, or R2. In
contrast to the findings of previous studies, most participants (six out of nine) showed no decline
in accuracy on their conditional discrimination performances following training with reversed
outcomes. In experiment 2, reflexivity, symmetry, and equivalence probes were administered to
evaluate the formation of stimulus classes A1B1C1, A2B2C2, and A3B3C3. In addition,
participants completed reinforcer probes in order to ascertain whether the class-specific
reinforcers had become class members. Four of the eight participants performed positively on
tests for equivalence, but we found little evidence of the reinforcers becoming class members.
Experiment 3, which was conducted with the same stimuli used to complete Experiments 1 and
2, was a replication of those studies without outcome reversals. Six of the seven participants
performed positively on tests for equivalence. Moreover, for three of these participants,
arranging class-consistent reinforcement contingencies brought reinforcer-probe performances
more closely in line with the original equivalence classes. Experiment 4 was a replication of Experiment 3 with novel stimuli. All three of the participants performed positively on tests for
equivalence and the reinforcer-probe performances of two of these participants indicated the
expansion of the equivalence classes to include reinforcers. Implications are discussed.
The effects of outcome reversals on children's conditional discrimination, equivalence, and reinforcer-probe performances
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Created on 1/1/2009
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters of Arts
- Language: English
- Date: 2009
- Keywords
- Reinforcement (Psychology)
- Subjects
- Reinforcement (Psychology)