Applications of matrix switching.
Matrix switches speed up old lab wiring; they have nothing to do with matrix training kids.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Catania et al. (1972) wrote a short hardware note.
They showed how matrix switches can re-wire an operant chamber in seconds.
No people, no data—just a wiring trick for lab rats.
What they found
The paper gives no results.
It only tells you how to plug cables so one lever can do many jobs.
How this fits with other research
Six later papers also use the word “matrix,” but they mean something else.
Marya et al. (2021), Meyer et al. (1987), Bailey et al. (2010), Jimenez-Gomez et al. (2019), Perez et al. (2015), and McQuaid et al. (2024) all use matrix training to teach kids with autism or deafness.
They teach a few word or picture combos and watch new, untaught combos pop out.
The 1972 switch and the teaching tool share only the name—no wires, no kids, no data.
Why it matters
If you still run old-style operant boxes, the switch trick saves time.
If you teach language, skip this paper and read the 2019 or 2021 studies instead.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
described how electromechanical appa- ratus can be made more versatile with multiple-bank rotary switches, which allow the experimenter to change the connections in a given array of equipment simply by dialing the appropriate circuits. Another device that permits multiple connections is the matrix or cross-bar switch, originally designed for electrical operation in
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1972 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1972.17-23