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Extinction of a response in the presence of one stimulus in an equivalence class can transfer to other related stimuli, but difficulties in establishing extinction can compromise analyses. The present study evaluated the transfer of avoidance extinction with two extinction procedures. In particular, avoidance or nonavoidance was always (Experiment 1) and never (Experiment 2) followed by point loss in the crucial extinction test phase. Both experiments began with the establishment of two equivalence classes with four abstract figures in each (A1-B1-C1-D1 and A2-B2-C2-D2). Clicking a button to avoid loss of points was trained with B1 and subsequently observed without direct training in the presence of C1 and D1. Extinction was then conducted with one group of participants with stimuli that underwent avoidance training (direct extinction with B1 and B2) and with another group with stimuli who did not undergo avoidance training (derived extinction with C1 and C2). Finally, the transfer of extinction was evaluated with stimuli from both classes. In Experiment 1, 10 of 14 participants met the avoidance extinction criteria, and the transfer of extinction occurred for 2 (1 in the direct and 1 in the derived extinction group). In Experiment 2, 10 of 13 participants met the avoidance extinction criteria, and the transfer of extinction occurred for 6 (5 in the direct and 1 in the derived extinction group). Overall, the transfer of extinction occurred only with the combination of an extinction procedure without aversive events and direct extinction. Keywords Avoidance * Extinction * Equivalence * Transfer * Fear * Human, According to Sidman (1994), equivalence classes are established when arbitrary conditional relations between stimuli are trained (e.g., A-B and B-C), and new relations that were not directly trained emerge in [...]

The present study evaluated whether transfer of the avoidance response in equivalence classes is produced using the loss of points as the aversive stimulus. In the first phase of the experiment, 11 participants established two equivalence classes with four visual abstract stimuli each (Class 1: A1,B1,C1,D1; Class 2: A2, B2, C2, D2). In the second phase of the experiment, only one visual stimulus (B1) was paired with point loss. An avoidance response to B1 was then established. In the third phase of the experiment, the other stimuli were presented in a transfer of avoidance test. An avoidance response was established for all 11 participants, and the transfer of avoidance occurred for 10 of them. These results indicate that point loss can function as an effective aversive stimulus to maintain an avoidance response and produce transfer of the avoidance function in equivalence classes. The use of point loss may be a valuable tool in human operant research to substitute for other aversive stimuli with undesirable side effects. Keywords Equivalence * Transfer * Avoidance * Points, The matching-to-sample procedure establishes directly taught conditional relations and emergent conditional relations. Once symmetry, transitivity, and equivalence relations are detected, equivalence classes are assumed to be established (Sidman & Tailby, [...]

The present study compared the direct and derived extinction of avoidance responses in equivalence classes. Two classes with four abstract figures in each class (Class 1: A1-B1-C1-D1; Class 2: A2-B2-C2-D2) were first established. An avoidance response that was trained in the presence of one stimulus (B1) was emitted under control of the other stimuli from the same class (C1 and D1). The subjects were then assigned to two different groups (Direct Extinction Group and Derived Extinction Group). Different extinction procedures were implemented for each group. In the Direct Extinction Group, B1 was presented in extinction. In the Derived Extinction Group, C1 was presented in extinction. Finally, the transfer of extinction was evaluated in the presence of the other stimuli from each class. In the Direct Extinction Group, avoidance responses were extinguished for 4 of the 16 participants in the presence of B1. In the Derived Extinction Group, avoidance responses were extinguished for 10 of the 16 participants in the presence of C1. The results indicated that derived extinction occurred more easily than direct extinction. Considering that avoidance responses were extinguished only for a few participants, future studies should implement more efficient procedures to establish avoidance extinction and then evaluate possible differences between derived and direct extinction in the transfer of extinction. Keywords Equivalence * Transfer * Avoidance * Extinction, Studies about equivalence relations (e.g., Sidman, 1994) and other derived stimulus relations (e.g., Hayes, Bames-Holmes, & Roche, 2001) have found that after directly training some arbitrary relations between stimuli, other [...]

The study investigated whether the go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli would produce emergent relations among dictated word (A), picture (B) and printed word (C). The emergence of textual behavior (CD) was also evaluated. Eight children from 4 to 5 years old were submitted to AB and AC training, followed by tests of BC, CB, and CD relations. During AB and AC training, a compound stimulus (formed of auditory and visual stimuli) was successively presented in each trial. Responses were differentially reinforced in the presence of 'related' compounds (e.g., A1B1 and A2B2 in AB training), but not in the presence of 'unrelated' compounds (e.g., A1B2 and A2B1). In BC and CB tests, the compounds were formed of a picture and a printed word side by side. Finally, tests of CD relations were conducted (textual behavior). The results showed that all the children met the learning criteria and showed emergence of BC, CB, and CD relations. The data also indicated the feasibility of the go/no-go procedure in producing emergent performance in reading. Keywords Reading * Stimulus equivalence * Go/no-go * Compound * Preschool children, Skinner (1957) introduced the term textual behavior to refer to a verbal response (vocal, subvocal, or gestural) under the control of a text (a visual stimulus) or even a tactual [...]

When the matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure is used, different training structures imply differences in the successive discriminations required in training and test conditions. When the go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli is used, however, differences in training structures do not imply such differences. This study assessed whether the go/no-go procedure with compound stimuli with different training structures would produce significant variations in emergent performances. Fourteen undergraduate students were divided into 2 training groups: one-to-many (OTM) and many-to-one (MTO). During training, responses emitted in the presence of compounds defined as Related were reinforced. Responses emitted in the presence of compounds defined as Not Related were not. During tests, new compounds structurally emulated MTS equivalence tests. Participants finished training with comparable numbers of sessions, and 13 showed emergent performances. These results suggest that differences in equivalence test outcomes with different training structures in MTS procedures may be due to their different successive discrimination requirements. Key words: go/no-go, compound stimuli, training structure, equivalence, human, To study formation of equivalence classes, the minimum prerequisites are (1) two conditional discriminations having elements in common (nodes) and (2) tests for emergent performances consistent with reflexivity, symmetry, and [...]