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Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1993 Jan;59(1):103–114. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1993.59-103

Auditory successive conditional discrimination and auditory stimulus equivalence classes.

W V Dube 1, G Green 1, R W Serna 1
PMCID: PMC1322078  PMID: 8433062

Abstract

This paper describes an experimental demonstration of stimulus equivalence classes consisting entirely of auditory stimuli. Stimuli were digitized arbitrary syllables (e.g., "cug," "vek") presented via microcomputer. Training and testing were conducted with a two-choice auditory successive conditional discrimination procedure. On each trial, auditory samples and comparisons were presented successively. As each comparison was presented, a response location (a rectangle) appeared on the computer screen. After all stimuli for a trial were presented, subjects selected one of the response locations. Six subjects acquired the conditional discrimination baseline, 4 subjects demonstrated the formation of three-member auditory equivalence classes resulting from sample-S+ relations, and 1 subject demonstrated equivalence classes resulting from sample-S- relations. Four subjects received additional training and subsequently demonstrated expansion of the three-member classes to four members each.

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Selected References

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