Equivalence class formation as a function of preliminary training with pictorial stimuli

The team asked 84 college students to form three 5-member equivalence classes. Some groups first practiced with meaningful pictures and a six-second delay before the real matching task. Others saw only abstract shapes and no delay.

Everyone then got standard match-to-sample training. Researchers counted who passed symmetry, transitivity, and equivalence tests.

Seventy-five percent of the picture-plus-delay group formed classes. Only about 17 percent of the shape-only group did.

The boost came from the combination: pictures alone helped more than shapes, and adding the six-second wait pushed success rates even higher—roughly four to five times the baseline rate.

Lantaya et al. (2018) also used college students and got strong classes, but they swapped the whole procedure for successive matching. Arntzen kept the classic three-array format and just added a front-end step.

Perez et al. (2020) seems to clash—they showed that blocking the view of the correct choice hurts equivalence. Arntzen's delay lets learners see everything, only waiting longer. Both agree: give the brain time to process, don't hide stimuli.

Fields et al. (2002) first showed that extra early examples help linked perceptual classes emerge. Arntzen extends that idea to pure equivalence: a short pictorial warm-up with a pause does the same trick.

If your learner struggles to form equivalence classes, slide in a quick round with familiar pictures and a six-second wait before the real program. No new software, no extra staff—just delay the click. Three out of four neurotypical adults succeeded after this tiny tweak, so try it with verbal clients who have the prerequisite attending skills.