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ABSTRACT

Emergence of Complex Conditional Discriminations by Joint Control of Compound Samples

Benigno Alonso-Álvarez

UNIVERSITY OF OVIEDO - SPAIN

The present study explored the emergence of verbal behavior as result of the joint control of two novel antecedent stimuli. Conditional discriminations were used for learning and for probing. Four stimuli P1, P2, Q1, and Q2 were samples and four stimuli A1, A2, B1, and B2 were the comparisons with one sample and two comparisons in each trial. Each sample controlled selections of two comparison stimuli. In a probe with no reinforcement, one P and one Q stimuli formed a compound sample, and the four comparisons appeared in each trial. Only selections of one comparison have been reinforced in the presence of the two sample stimuli during teaching. I analyzed whether the two sample stimuli would jointly control comparison selections. In Study 1, two adult participants did not show the emergence of the discrimination with the compound sample. In Study 2, I modified the procedure of Study 1 in such a way that a prompt procedure was used, trials of the four simple conditional discriminations were gradually intermixed, and the reinforcement was reduced. The adult participants showed the emergence of the conditional discrimination with the complex sample. Thus, this study demonstrated the emergence of discriminations by joint control.