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INSTRUCTIONAL CONTROL OF GENERALIZED RELATIONAL MATCHING TO SAMPLE IN CHILDREN
Author(s) -
Lowenkron Barry
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1938-3711
pISSN - 0022-5002
DOI - 10.1901/jeab.1989.52-293
Subject(s) - matching (statistics) , stimulus (psychology) , computer science , stimulus control , sample size determination , statistics , artificial intelligence , psychology , mathematics , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , nicotine
Three experiments examined the performance of 4‐year‐old children in matching geometric stimuli. Performance was developed as a simulation in which all components of the behavior were overt and directly measured. A correct match depended on the state of an instructional stimulus: the background color of the display. In the first two experiments, on nonidentity trials (signified by a green background) the next longer length, larger size, or greater distance was correct. With a blue background, a comparison identical to the sample was correct. In Experiment 3, red was added for which shorter, smaller, or nearer was correct. Also here, on nonidentity trials, if a comparison of the correct length was not presented, the children adjusted their search target to the comparison of the next succeeding size (larger or smaller) so as to maintain a constant matching relation. Subsequently, when exposure to the instructional stimulus was reduced to presentation only at the beginning of each trial, performance simulated matching based on instructions about abstract relations. In all experiments, accurate matching generalized across novel stimuli and reduced exposure to the instructional stimuli.