The transfer of respondent eliciting and extinction functions through stimulus equivalence classes.
After equivalence training, conditioning or extinction given to one stimulus spreads to every other stimulus in the class.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Adults learned match-to-sample equivalence classes in a lab.
Next, one stimulus got either respondent conditioning or extinction.
The team then checked if that emotional change jumped to every other picture in the class.
What they found
Most adults showed the same bodily reaction to every class member.
If picture A scared them, pictures B and C scared them too.
The same spread happened when the fear was turned off.
How this fits with other research
Roche et al. (1997) ran the same idea three years later and got the same jump.
Shimizu (2006) went further and showed that even different hand moves can join the class.
Minster et al. (2011) looks like a clash because they say extinction does not kill the relation.
The gap is method: Tepaeru stopped giving tokens, but J et al. removed the scary sound.
Both papers agree that extinction effects travel; they just tested different kinds of extinction.
Why it matters
When you build a stimulus class, treat one member as if you have treated them all.
If you pair one sight with a loud noise, expect fear to pop up for every linked sight.
Probe for generalization before you call a program a success.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Two studies investigated the transfer of respondent elicitation through equivalence classes. In Experiment 1, match-to-sample procedures were used to teach 8 subjects two four-member equivalence classes. One member of one class was then paired with electric shock, and one member of the other class was presented without shock. All remaining stimuli were then presented. Using skin conductance as the measure of conditioning, transfer of conditioning was demonstrated in 6 of the 8 subjects. In Experiment 2, similar procedures were used to replicate the results of Experiment 1 and investigate the transfer of extinction. Following equivalence training and conditioning to all members of one class, one member was then presented in extinction. When the remaining stimuli from this class were then presented, they failed to elicit skin conductance. In the final phase of the experiment, the stimulus that was previously presented in extinction was reconditioned. Test trials with other members of the class revealed that they regained elicitation function. These results demonstrate that both respondent elicitation and extinction can transfer through stimulus classes. The clinical and applied significance of the results is discussed.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1994 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1994.62-331