Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 2000 Jul;74(1):101–114. doi: 10.1901/jeab.2000.74-101

Equivalence classes in individuals with minimal verbal repertoires.

D Carr 1, K M Wilkinson 1, D Blackman 1, W J McIlvane 1
PMCID: PMC1284786  PMID: 10966098

Abstract

Studies from two different laboratories tested for equivalence classes in individuals with severe mental retardation and minimal verbal repertoires. In the first study, 3 individuals learned several matching-to-sample performances: matching picture comparison stimuli to dictated-word sample stimuli (AB), matching those same pictures to printed letter samples (CB), and also matching the pictures to nonrepresentative forms (DB). On subsequent tests, all individuals immediately displayed Emergent Relations AC, AD, BC, BD, CD, and DC, together constituting a positive demonstration of equivalence (as defined by Sidman). The second study obtained a positive equivalence test outcome in 1 of 2 individuals with similarly minimal verbal repertoires. Taken together, these studies call into question previous assertions that equivalence classes are demonstrable only in individuals with well-developed language repertoires.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (242.4 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Carrigan P. F., Sidman M. Conditional discrimination and equivalence relations: A theoretical analysis of control by negative stimuli. J Exp Anal Behav. 1992 Jul;58(1):183–204. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1992.58-183. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Carter D. E., Werner T. J. Complex learning and information processing by pigeons: a critical analysis. J Exp Anal Behav. 1978 May;29(3):565–601. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1978.29-565. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. D'Amato M. R., Salmon D. P., Loukas E., Tomie A. Symmetry and transitivity of conditional relations in monkeys (Cebus apella) and pigeons (Columba livia). J Exp Anal Behav. 1985 Jul;44(1):35–47. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1985.44-35. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Devany J. M., Hayes S. C., Nelson R. O. Equivalence class formation in language-able and language-disabled children. J Exp Anal Behav. 1986 Nov;46(3):243–257. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1986.46-243. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dixon L. S. The nature of control by spoken words over visual stimulus selection. J Exp Anal Behav. 1977 May;27(3):433–442. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1977.27-433. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dube W. V., Iennaco F. M., McIlvane W. J. Generalized identity matching to sample of two-dimensional forms in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Res Dev Disabil. 1993 Nov-Dec;14(6):457–477. doi: 10.1016/0891-4222(93)90038-l. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dube W. V., McIlvane W. J., Mackay H. A., Stoddard L. T. Stimulus class membership established via stimulus-reinforcer relations. J Exp Anal Behav. 1987 Mar;47(2):159–175. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1987.47-159. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dube W. V., McIlvane W. J., Maguire R. W., Mackay H. A., Stoddard L. T. Stimulus class formation and stimulus-reinforcer relations. J Exp Anal Behav. 1989 Jan;51(1):65–76. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1989.51-65. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Guess D., Baer D. M. An analysis of individual differences in generalization between receptive and productive language in retarded children. J Appl Behav Anal. 1973 Summer;6(2):311–329. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1973.6-311. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Horne P. J., Lowe C. F. On the origins of naming and other symbolic behavior. J Exp Anal Behav. 1996 Jan;65(1):185–241. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1996.65-185. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lionello K. M., Urcuioli P. J. Control by sample location in pigeons' matching to sample. J Exp Anal Behav. 1998 Nov;70(3):235–251. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1998.70-235. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. McIlvane W. J., Dube W. V. Naming as a facilitator of discrimination. J Exp Anal Behav. 1996 Jan;65(1):267–272. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1996.65-267. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. McIlvane W. J., Kledaras J. B., Munson L. C., King K. A., de Rose J. C., Stoddard L. T. Controlling relations in conditional discrimination and matching by exclusion. J Exp Anal Behav. 1987 Sep;48(2):187–208. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1987.48-187. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. McIlvane W. J., Stoddard T. Acquisition of matching - to - sample performances in severe retardation: learning by exclusion. J Ment Defic Res. 1981 Mar;25(Pt 1):33–48. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.1981.tb00091.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Saunders K. J., Spradlin J. E. Conditional discrimination in mentally retarded adults: the development of generalized skills. J Exp Anal Behav. 1990 Nov;54(3):239–250. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1990.54-239. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Serna R. W., Wilkinson K. M., McIlvane W. J. Blank-comparison assessment of stimulus-stimulus relations in individuals with mental retardation: a methodological note. Am J Ment Retard. 1998 Jul;103(1):60–74. doi: 10.1352/0895-8017(1998)103<0060:BAOSRI>2.0.CO;2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sidman M. Reading and auditory-visual equivalences. J Speech Hear Res. 1971 Mar;14(1):5–13. doi: 10.1044/jshr.1401.05. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sidman M., Tailby W. Conditional discrimination vs. matching to sample: an expansion of the testing paradigm. J Exp Anal Behav. 1982 Jan;37(1):5–22. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1982.37-5. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Stoddard L. T., McIlvane W. J. Generalization after intradimensional discrimination training in 2-year-old children. J Exp Child Psychol. 1989 Apr;47(2):324–334. doi: 10.1016/0022-0965(89)90035-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Stromer R., Osborne J. G. Control of adolescents' arbitrary matching-to-sample by positive and negative stimulus relations. J Exp Anal Behav. 1982 May;37(3):329–348. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1982.37-329. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Werker J. F., Cohen L. B., Lloyd V. L., Casasola M., Stager C. L. Acquisition of word-object associations by 14-month-old infants. Dev Psychol. 1998 Nov;34(6):1289–1309. doi: 10.1037//0012-1649.34.6.1289. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Zygmont D. M., Lazar R. M., Dube W. V., McIlvane W. J. Teaching arbitrary matching via sample stimulus-control shaping to young children and mentally retarded individuals: a methodological note. J Exp Anal Behav. 1992 Jan;57(1):109–117. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1992.57-109. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior are provided here courtesy of Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

RESOURCES