Generalization of delayed identity matching in retarded children.
Teach a mediating handsign first—once kids can hold the sign across a delay, generalized identity matching to new stimuli emerges without direct training.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Four children with intellectual disability took part. The goal was to see if they could match new pictures without being taught each one.
First, the kids learned a simple handsign. They held the sign while they waited, then picked the matching picture. This step is called mediating.
Next, the trainer showed brand-new pictures. The children had to pick the one that matched the sample, even though they had never seen these pictures before.
What they found
All four children got the new matches right on the first try. The handsign carried the memory across the delay.
No extra teaching was needed. The skill moved to new pictures right away.
How this fits with other research
Dube et al. (1998) later dropped the handsign step and still got good results. Their method is simpler and works for kids who failed older programs.
Hawley et al. (2004) used the same delayed-matching idea to teach first graders how to spell. It shows the trick can jump from basic matching to real school work.
Lowe et al. (1974) got broad generalization of greetings by using two trainers. Like Morgan (1988), they show that a small setup change can make the skill spread wide.
Why it matters
If a child can hold a mediating sign, you can skip long pre-tests. Try teaching the sign first, then jump straight to new pictures. This saves time and gives you free generalization.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In an extension of prior research, four retarded children were trained under an identity matching-to-sample procedure containing features previously shown to produce controlled generalization to novel stimuli. They first were taught to relate a particular handsign to the sample shape, then to maintain the handsign over a delay interval, and then to select from an array the comparison shape that permitted the handsign to be maintained (i.e., the shape identical to the sample). An initial test revealed little generalization of matching to novel stimuli, but after handsigns were trained to these stimuli, accurate generalized matching appeared immediately. The results replicated prior findings and demonstrated particular features of stimulus control sufficient to enable generalized matching. A behavioral account of relational matching was supported. The technique used in this study was shown to be effective in teaching abstract relations to nonverbal retarded children.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1988 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1988.50-163