Table 3.
Teaching stages of discrimination training
| Training step |
Sample stimulus |
Sample stimulus order |
Comparison stimuli |
Comparison stimuli position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Q1 | Fixed | S1 | Fixed |
| 2 | Q1 | Fixed | S1 S2 | Random |
| 3 | Q2 | Fixed | S2 | Fixed |
| 4 | Q2 | Fixed | S1 S2 | Random |
| 5 | Q1 Q2 | Semi random | S1 S2 | Random |
| 6 | Q3 | Fixed | S3 | Fixed |
| 7 | Q3 | Fixed | S1 S2 S3 | Random |
| 8 | Q1 Q2 Q3 | Semi random | S1 S2 S3 | Random |
| 9 | Q4 | Fixed | S4 | Fixed |
| 10 | Q4 | Fixed | S1 S2 S3 S4 | Random |
| 11 | Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 |
Semi random | S1 S2 S3 S4 | Random |
| 12 | Q5 | Fixed | S5 | Fixed |
| 13 | Q5 | Fixed | S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 |
Random |
| 14 | Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 |
Semi random | S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 |
Random |
| 15 | Q6 | Fixed | S6 | NA |
| 16 | Q6 | Fixed | S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 |
Random |
| 17 | Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 |
Semi random | S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 Q6 |
Random |
The sample stimulus is the question asked by the experimenter. The comparison stimuli are the picture cards placed on the table. For example, when the sample stimulus “What’s a drink that’s white?” was presented, the participant was taught to touch the comparison stimulus of the picture card depicting a glass of milk
Semi random = sample stimuli occurred in random order except that they occurred an equal number of times each
Q question, S stimulus, NA not applicable