Testing response-stimulus equivalence relations using differential responses as a sample.
Mouse moves can join stimulus classes—watch for response topography as a silent class member.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Shimizu (2006) asked eight college students to learn a computer game.
Each picture came with its own special mouse move: click, double-click, or drag.
Later, the pictures were mixed with new ones. The adults had to pick the correct match without being told which move went with which picture.
What they found
Every adult chose the right picture when the mouse move was the only hint.
The moves themselves had become part of the picture class, like silent names.
How this fits with other research
Roche et al. (1997) and Rojahn et al. (1994) already showed that feelings tied to one picture spread to its matching pictures. Hirofumi adds body moves to that list.
Dixon et al. (2017) later repeated the idea with gambling chips: a color linked to good words made people bet more. Same rule, new setting.
Together, these papers say: once stimuli are in the same family, any property—feelings, words, or actions—travels to the whole family.
Why it matters
When you build stimulus classes, remember that the way a learner responds can become part of the class. If you teach a child to clap for red and tap for blue, those claps and taps may later guide choices without extra training. Plan your prompts and probe for these hidden members.
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Join Free →After teaching a child to point, click, or drag for a picture, test if the movement alone cues the correct match in new pairs.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study tested the notion that an equivalence relation may include a response when differential responses are paired with stimuli presented during training. Eight normal adults learned three kinds of computer mouse movements as differential response topographies (R1, R2, and R3). Next, in matching-to-sample training, one of the response topographies was used to select a comparison stimulus B (B1, B2, or B3) conditionally upon presentation of sample stimulus A (A1, A2, or A3), and to select stimulus D (D1, D2, or D3) conditionally upon presentation of stimulus C (C1, C2, or C3). After two sample-comparison-response relations (ABR and CDR) were established, 18 sample-comparison relations were tested (BA, DC, RA, RB, RC, RD, AC, CA, AD, DA, BC, CB, BD, DB, AA, BB, CC, and DD). In the RA, RB, RC, and RD tests, the differential responses (R1, R2, and R3) were used as sample stimuli. All subjects made class-consistent comparison selections in the tests. This study provides evidence that responses may become members of an equivalence class.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 2006 · doi:10.1901/jeab.2006.04-03