Stimulus Equivalence

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Stimulus EquivalenceStimulus EquivalenceWorkshowWorkshow

Revisions by:Revisions by:Kristen GaisfordKristen Gaisford

Created by:Created by:Greg PartloGreg Partlo

Conny RaaymakersConny RaaymakersJason OttoJason Otto

Click the arrow to advance 26 Questions. Approximately 45 minutes to complete.

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A few illegal beers, no seatbelt, a fast pickup truck, a A few illegal beers, no seatbelt, a fast pickup truck, a missed curve and a sudden impact with an unyielding missed curve and a sudden impact with an unyielding oak tree caused extensive, diffuse brain damage in 19-oak tree caused extensive, diffuse brain damage in 19-year old Alyear old Al..

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And now, after 11 years in a traditional brain-injury rehab program, Al still couldn’t identify the therapists he saw daily.

Can I ask you a question?Who are

you??

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Al’s inability to do people-Al’s inability to do people-name symbolic matching name symbolic matching limited his independence. limited his independence.

Now it was time to Now it was time to implement some implement some behavioral training. Al’s behavioral training. Al’s therapist, Dawn, was ready therapist, Dawn, was ready to take on this challenge.to take on this challenge.

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So, Dawn started a process called Symbolic Matching to Sample

Dawn said the name “Mark” and then Al was shown three pictures(sample stimulus)

“MARK”SPOKEN SAMPLE

Then Al pointed to a color photo of Mark(comparison stimulus)

Dawn said, “That’s Dawn said, “That’s right!”right!”

“That’sRight!”

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Let’s look at the reinforcement contingency Let’s look at the reinforcement contingency of this procedureof this procedure

Al has no Al has no praisepraise

Al pointsAl pointsto “Mark’s”to “Mark’s”

photophotoAl has Al has praisepraise

SSDD: Dawn says, “Mark”: Dawn says, “Mark”

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For the next month, Dawn and Al did For the next month, Dawn and Al did matching to sample with Dawn speaking matching to sample with Dawn speaking the different names of Al’s three the different names of Al’s three therapists.therapists.

“Bev”Spoken SampleDawn started a new trial by saying the

name “Bev.”But this time Al pointed to Mark’s photo instead of Bev’s photo.

Dawn said, “Try again.”

Then Al pointed to Bev’s photo and Dawn said,“That’s right!”

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Here is the extinction contingency of Here is the extinction contingency of when Al points to “Mark” when the Swhen Al points to “Mark” when the SDD is is

“Bev”“Bev”

Al has no Al has no praisepraise

Al pointsAl pointsto “Mark’s”to “Mark’s”

photophotoAl has no Al has no

praisepraise

SSDD: Dawn says, “Bev”: Dawn says, “Bev”

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So there is one thing we need to get So there is one thing we need to get straight before we move on…straight before we move on…

“MARK”

An example of symbolic matching would be Dawn saying “Mark”, which is symbolic

of Mark’s photo.

You need to understand the You need to understand the difference between identity difference between identity matching and symbolic matching.matching and symbolic matching.

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Identity Matching…Identity Matching…Here is an example of identity matching where

matching occurs between the written name of Mark on one piece of paper and the written name of Mark

on another piece of paper.

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTom

Identity matching occurs when the sample and comparison stimuli are physically identical.

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MarkSallyTom

So now let’s test your knowledge to make sure So now let’s test your knowledge to make sure you understand the difference.you understand the difference.

So, what is the example above?

A. Symbolic matchingB. Identity matching

“MARK”

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So now lets test your knowledge to make So now lets test your knowledge to make sure you understand the difference.sure you understand the difference.

MarkSallyTom

“MARK”



No, The auditory

stimulus “Mark” and

the written word Mark

are not identical, so

they are just symbols

of each other.

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MarkSallyTom

“MARK”

Yes, You’ve got it! The auditory stimulus, “Mark” is symbolic of the visual, written Mark.



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So now lets test your knowledge to make sure So now lets test your knowledge to make sure you understand the difference.you understand the difference.

So, What type of matching is this?A. Symbolic matchingB. Identity matching

No. The sample teddy bear is

identical to the comparison

teddy bear. They are not symbols of each other.

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So, What type of matching is this?

A. Symbolic matching

B. Identity matching

Yes, You’ve got it! When the sample

teddy bear is identical to the comparison

teddy bear, they are not symbols of each

other.

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Computer


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So, What type of matching is this?A. Symbolic matching

B. Identity matching

Computer

No. The auditory stimulus, “Computer” is symbolic of the computer itself. They are not identical samples, so they can be symbolic of each other.

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Computer

Yes, You’ve got it! The auditory

stimulus, “computer” is

symbolic of the computer itself!

Great Job!

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“MARK”SPOKEN SAMPLE

It is selecting a comparison stimulus

Corresponding to a sample stimulus

So now that you have So now that you have that figured out, you need that figured out, you need to remember the to remember the definition of Matching to definition of Matching to sample.sample.

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A. Al hears the name “Deb”B. Al says “Mark”C. Al looks at the picture MarkD. Al hears the spoken name “Mark”

What is the SD for Al’s behavior?

Al’s behavior of pointing to Mark’s picture can be described through a Discriminative Stimulus diagram.

?SD

S-DELTA

Al receives no praise

BEFORE

Al points to Mark’s photo

BEHAVIOR

Al receives praise

AFTER


AFTER

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Al points to Marks photo

Al receives praise


BEFORE BEHAVIOR

SD

S-DELTA

AFTER

AFTER


No. Al, did notReceive praise when

he pointedTo “Marks” picture

when Dawnspoke the name

“Deb”.

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Al receives praise


SD

S-DELTA

BEFORE BEHAVIOR

AFTER

AFTER

The SD must also past the stimulus test,

therefore it can’t be a behavior of the

behaver.

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What is the SD for Al’s behavior?A. Al hears the name “Deb”B. Al says “Mark”C. Al looks at the picture MarkD. Al hears the spoken name “Mark”



Al receives praise


SD

S-DELTA

BEFORE BEHAVIOR

AFTER

AFTER

No. Al may look at the picture of

Mark but that is not the stimulus in the presence

of which Al’s behavior will be reinforced.

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What is the SD for Al’s behavior?A. Al hears the name “Deb”B. Al says “Mark”C. Al looks at the picture MarkD. Al hears the spoken name “Mark”



Al receives praise

Al hears Dawn say

“Mark”

Al hears Dawn say

“Deb”


SD

S-DELTA

BEFORE BEHAVIOR

AFTER

AFTER

Yes! Al hearsDawn say the name

“Mark” which is the SD

and the S-delta is Dawn saying any other name

but “Mark”

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Now back to Al…Now back to Al…

“MARK”

Dawn trained Al to point at Mark’sphoto when she

said, “Mark.”

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“MARK”

As a result of that training, when Dawn pointed to the photo, Al could also say the

name “Mark”.

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“MARK”

“MARK”

The picture of Mark evoking the response “Mark” is Novel Stimulus Control

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“MARK”

“MARK”

You may be tempted to say, “Of course if Al knows this is Mark’s photo, then he knows that “Mark” is the name of the guy in the photo.

BUT THAT ISN”T NECESSARILY

TRUE

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So here is our theory…So here is our theory…

“MARK” “Mark”(Covertly)

First, Dawn said “Mark” then Al touched Mark’s

photo while he said “Mark” but perhaps covertly (Under his

breath).

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So here is our theory…So here is our theory…“MARK”

“Mark”(Covertly)

Al has no praise

Al pointsto Mark’s

photo and covertly

says “Mark”

Al has praise

REINFORCEMENT

Then Dawn said, “That’s right,”

reinforcing both Al’s touching Mark’s photo and his

covertly saying, “Mark”.

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So here is our theory…So here is our theory…“MARK”

“Mark”(Covertly)

Al has no praise

Al pointsto Mark’s

photo and covertly

says “Mark”

Al has praise

REINFORCEMENT

So when Dawn pointed to Mark’s photo and asked “who is this.” it was easy for Al to increase the intensity to an out loud “Mark,” from covert “Mark,” a response

that had been reinforced throughout the preceding trials.

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First, Dawn said “Mark” then Al touched Mark’s photo First, Dawn said “Mark” then Al touched Mark’s photo and said “Mark” but perhaps covertly (under his and said “Mark” but perhaps covertly (under his breath).breath).

“MARK”

“Mark”(Covertly

)

A. Al knows this is “Mark’s” photoB. Al has been trained in the past to pick the photo when he heard th

e name “Mark,” so he can also say the name when he sees the photo

C. Al thinks this is “Mark’s” photoD. Al feels this is “Mark’s photo

So why can Al say Mark’s name when shown the picture?

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“MARK”

“Mark”Covertly




So why can Al say Mark’s name when shown the picture? No. “Knows” is

not specific enough.



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“MARK”

“Mark”Covertly

A. Al knows this is “Mark’s” photoB. Al has been trained in the past to pick the photo when he heard

the name “Mark,” and also said his name under his breath, which was reinforced, so he can also say the name when he sees the photo


So why can Al say Mark’s name when shown the picture? Right!



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“MARK”

“Mark”Covertly





No. Thinksis a common-

sense, mentalistic word which gets

too sloppyin our analysis.



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“MARK”

“Mark”Covertly





No. Feelsis a common-

sense, mentalistic word which gets

too sloppyin our analysis.

So here is our theory…So here is our theory…First, Dawn said “Mark” then Al touched Mark’s photo First, Dawn said “Mark” then Al touched Mark’s photo

and said “Mark” but perhaps covertly (under his and said “Mark” but perhaps covertly (under his breath).breath).

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After Dawn trained Al to touch the photo with her saying After Dawn trained Al to touch the photo with her saying “Mark” as the S“Mark” as the SDD, Al was able to say the name Mark , Al was able to say the name Mark out loud in the presence of another stimulusout loud in the presence of another stimulus

What is the SD for Al’s behavior of saying Mark?


BEFORE

Al says “Mark”

BEHAVIOR

Al receives praise

AFTER


AFTER

?SD

S-DELTA

A. Dawn is saying MarkB. Dawns finger is touching Mark’s photoC. Another therapist is saying MarkD. None of the above

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BEFORE

Al says “Mark”

BEHAVIOR

Al receives praise

AFTER


AFTER

SD

S-DELTA

No. Dawn did say Mark but that isn’t the SD for Al’s behavior of saying

Mark. Try again.

After Dawn trained Al to touch the photo with her saying “Mark” as After Dawn trained Al to touch the photo with her saying “Mark” as the SD, Al was able to say the name Mark out loud in the the SD, Al was able to say the name Mark out loud in the presence of another stimuluspresence of another stimulus

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BEFORE

Al says “Mark”

BEHAVIOR

Al receives praise

AFTER


AFTER

Yes. Dawn is touching Mark’s photo, which is the SD for Al saying the

name “Mark”.

Finger on photo of Mark

SD

Finger onany other photo

S-DELTA

After Dawn trained Al to touch the photo with her saying “Mark” as the SD, Al After Dawn trained Al to touch the photo with her saying “Mark” as the SD, Al was able to say the name Mark out loud in the presence of another was able to say the name Mark out loud in the presence of another stimulusstimulus

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BEFORE

Al says “Mark”

BEHAVIOR

Al receives praise

AFTER


AFTER

SD

S-DELTA

No. No other therapist has been involved in Al

training. Try again.


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BEFORE

Al says “Mark”

BEHAVIOR

Al receives praise

AFTER


AFTER

No. The answer is above.

Try again.

SD

S-DELTA


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Now, lets take it back to the Now, lets take it back to the Skinner box.Skinner box. You could train symbolic

matching with a nonverbal organism like Polly. When we present the color green, we reinforce pecks on the word “green.”

Yellow

Green

Following just the training above, we will not see Polly then touch the color green in the presence of the word “green.”

SD

Green

SD

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A. Because Polly can say “green” to herself B. Because Polly can’t say to herself “green”

After you reinforce pecking the word “green” in the presence of the color green, why can’t she do the above?

A hasty analysis might be that in the presence of the A hasty analysis might be that in the presence of the word “green,” Polly would be able to peck the color word “green,” Polly would be able to peck the color green because Polly already knows how to peck the green because Polly already knows how to peck the “green” key in the presence of the color green.“green” key in the presence of the color green.

That’s the trouble with using common-sense mentalistic That’s the trouble with using common-sense mentalistic words such as “knows.” words such as “knows.”

GreenSD

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Green


No. Polly the pigeon is not a

verbal organism. She can’t covertly

say “green” to herself.

SD

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Green


Yes. Your right! Polly can’t say to herself “green.”

Yet, Al can because he is a

verbal organism.

SD

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So, what is this all called?So, what is this all called?Symmetry means when Al was trained in one Symmetry means when Al was trained in one

direction, the other direction emerged direction, the other direction emerged without direct training…without direct training…

“MARK”

“Mark”

So lets break this down. When Dawn says “Mark,” Al is trained to touch the

photo of Mark. And he also says “Mark” covertly, so

saying “Mark” is also reinforced.

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Symmetry means when Al was trained in one direction, Symmetry means when Al was trained in one direction, the other direction emerged without direct training…the other direction emerged without direct training…

“Mark”

“MARK”

“MARK”

So after this training above, when Dawn touches Mark’s photo, Al can say the

name “Mark” because covertly saying the name “Mark” has been previously

reinforced.And his covertly saying “Mark” was only reinforced when he was touching the photo of Mark.

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“MARK”

“MARK”

You’ll learn more about the importance of Al

saying “Mark” covertly later. For now the easy

way to identify a symmetrical relationship is

to see if the SD and response are simply

switched around.

59A. YesB. No

“Bear”

“Shirt”

Dawn has trained Al to touch the bear when he hears “bear.”Would the procedure on top be symmetrical to the trainingbelow it?

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Dawn has trained Al to touch the bear when he hears “bear.” Would the procedure on top be symmetrical to the training below it?A. YesB. No

“Bear”

“Shirt”

No, symmetrical relationships involve the same responses and stimuli, while the shirt was not part of the training

at all.

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Dawn has trained Al to touch the bear when he hears “bear.” Would the procedure on top be symmetrical to the training below it?A. YesB. No

“Bear”

“Shirt”

Correct, the shirt is not relevant to the symmetrical

relationship with the bear and “bear.”

62 A. Yes B. No

“Bear”

“Bear”BEAR SHIRT CUP

Now is the matching on the bottom symmetrical to the matching on top?

63 A. Yes B. No

“Bear”


No, symmetrical relationships involve the same responses and stimuli, while the written word, bear was not part of the

training at all.Now is the matching on the bottom symmetrical to the matching on top?

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“Bear”


Correct, the written word, bear is not relevant to the

symmetrical relationship with the bear and “bear.”

A. Yes B. No


65A. YesB. No

“Bear”

“Bear”


66A. YesB. No

“Bear”

“Bear”


No, symmetrical relationships involve the same responses

and stimuli, as we have here.

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“Bear”

“Bear”

Correct, Al can point to the bear after hearing “bear,” as well

as say “bear” after Dawn points to the bear.

A. YesB. No


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“Bear”

Great. You’ve got it! This is

symmetry!

“Bear”

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Moving on to an important point that you should understand…

“MARK”

MarkSallyTom

Even before training with Dawn, Al could match

the written names with the spoken name. Al

had been trained previously but this response was not a

result of Dawn’s training

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MarkSallyTom

In other words, when Dawn touched Mark’s photo

Al would touch Mark’s written name

Now after many training trials of matching the photo to the spoken name, it turns out that Al could also match the written names to the photo.

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MarkSallyTom

Al could match the correct response of touching Mark’s written name to Dawn touching Mark’s photo, without the response ever being reinforced in the past!

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“MARK”

“MARK” MarkSallyTom

Let’s recap for a moment. First, Al could touch the

written word when she said “Mark”.

Now after training, Al can also touch Mark’s picture

after hearing “Mark.”

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MarkSallyTom

As a result of the two previous trainings, Al can touch the written word when Dawn touches Mark’s

photo. Keep in mind that touching the written word has never been

reinforced in the presence of Dawn touching the photo.

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So what exactly is this transitive stimulus control

that we call transitivity?

Click on the right arrow key to find out

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MarkSallyTom

“MARK”

Well, first Al hears “Mark,”

which is a stimulus.

The auditory stimulus, “Mark” controlled Al’s

pointing to the written word Mark, which was achieved

through prior training.

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“MARK”

MarkSallyTom

And, with much reinforcement from Dawn, the auditory stimulus, “Mark” also controlled pointing to

the photo of Mark.

And now, without ANY training for pointing to the written name in the presence of the photo, Al could do so. This novel stimulus control is

called transitivity.

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“MARK”

“Mark”“MARK”

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTom

“Mark”

So here is our theory again. When Al sees

Mark’s photo, he says, “Mark,” either overtly or covertly, as he learned

from training.

And he was already able to match the written

names to Dawn’s Spoken names

So in the transitive relation, he just matches the written

name “Mark” to his own speaking of the name

“Mark”.

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SD

Photo of“Mark”

Behavior

Al speaks thename “Mark”

SD

Sound of Mark’sname

“MARK”

“MARK”

Behavior

Al touchesWritten name

MarkSallyTom

Now we have what is called a behavioral chain; a sequence of

stimuli and responses. Each response produces a change in the

environment that acts as a discriminative stimulus or

operandum for the next response.

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“MARK”

“MARK”

A. TransitivityB. Symmetry

Now, lets see if you know the

difference between Transitivity and

Symmetry!

What is the above

diagram?

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No, look closely at the

diagrams

“MARK”

“MARK”



Symmetry!

What is the above

diagram?

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“MARK”

“MARK”



Symmetry!

What is the above

diagram?

Yes. Since Al can touch Mark’s photo when Dawn say’s “Mark” he can also say “Mark,” when Dawn

touches Mark’s photo. And this is called Symmetry!

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MarkSallyTom

“MARK”

“MARK”

MarkSallyTom


Now, what is the above diagram?

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Yes.You’ve got it!

MarkSallyTom

“MARK”

“MARK”

MarkSallyTom


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No, look closely at the

diagrams

MarkSallyTom

“MARK”

“MARK”

MarkSallyTom


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Polly’s matchingred with red.

Similarly, even before Dawn’s training, Al could match written word with identical

written words.

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTom

Reflexivity refers to the results of simple, non-symbolic or identity

matching. So whenever there is matching

between identical samples, called identity matching, you have

reflexivity (they’re the same thing)!

We need to talk about one more term that goes with symmetry and transitivity and that is…REFLEXIVITY

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“MARK”

A.

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTomB.

Left-click your

answer

A. Example A is symbolic matchingB. Example B is symbolic matching

So, which one of these examples is symbolic matching?

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“MARK”

A.

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTomB.

Left-click your

answer



No. “A”, is the correct answer because Dawn

saying “Mark” is symbolic to Al touching Mark’s

photo

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“MARK”

A.

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTomB.

Left-click your

answer



Yes, you’ve got it! When Dawn says “Mark” it is symbolic to Al touching Mark’s photo! This is

an example of symbolic matching

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“MARK”

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTom

A.

B.

So, what is example “B”?A. Symbolic MatchingB. Identity MatchingC. ReflexivityD. B & C

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“MARK”

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTom

A.

B.

No. “A”, isn’t the correct answer for example “B”. Example “A” is symbolic matching because Dawn saying “Mark” is symbolic to Al touching Mark’s

photo. So, what is example “B”?

A. Symbolic MatchingB. Identity MatchingC. ReflexivityD. B & C

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“MARK”

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTom

A.

B.

You are close. Yes, “B” is identity but could it also be something else? Try again!

So, what is example “B”?A. Symbolic MatchingB. Identity MatchingC. ReflexivityD. B & C

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“MARK”

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTom

A.

B.

You are close. Yes, “B” is reflexive but could it also be something else? Try

again!So, what is example “B”?


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“MARK”

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTom

A.

B.

Yes, You’ve got it!Dawn pointing to Mark’s written name is not symbolic with Al pointing to Mark’s written

name because they are both identical samples. So that is identity matching. And

since they are identical samples, this is called Reflexivity!


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REFLEXIVE

MarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTom

SYMMETRICAL

“MARK”

“MARK”

So, what exactly is Stimulus Equivalence? Most behavior analysts says it is a set of

stimuli such as a set of:

And…..

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And TRANSITIVE stimulus relationsMarkSallyTom

“MARK”

“MARK”

MarkSallyTom

+

Equivalence classes result from stimulus-equivalence training the sort of symbolic

matching to sample Al did.

Some of the reflexive, symmetrical, and transitive stimulus-control relations emerge when just a few of the combinations are explicitly trained, as was

the case with Al.

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Those stimulus-control relations that emerge without being Those stimulus-control relations that emerge without being explicitly trained are called explicitly trained are called Emergent RelationsEmergent Relations

REFLEXIVEMarkSallyTom

MarkSallyTom

SYMMETRICAL“MAR

K”

“MARK”

TRANSITIVE MarkSallyTom

“MARK”

“MARK”

MarkSallyTom

+

First when symmetrical

matching occurred, when Dawn touched Mark’s picture

and Al said Marks name this was

emergent because it had not been

previously trained

Also, when transitivematching occurred,

When Dawn touched Mark’s

photo and Al could touch

Mark’s written name this was

emergent because it also had not been

previously trained

102

Let’s Review on what has been trained and what hasn’t…

First Dawn trained Al to touch mark’s photo when she said “Mark”

As a result of this training Al could say “Mark” when Dawn pointed to Mark’s photo without previous training.

Also as a result of training (but not trained itself) Al could point to Mark’s written name when Dawn pointed to Mark’s photo.

MarkSallyTom

“MARK”

“MARK”

MarkSallyTom

103

A. YesB. No

“MARK”

Al’s Equivalence ClassAl’s Equivalence Class

Dawn trained Al to touch Mark’s photo upon hearing “Mark.” Is this an emergent relation?

104

A. YesB. No


“MARK”

Yes! You’ve got it. There was training involved, so it can’t be emergent!


105

A. YesB. No


“MARK”

No. An emergent relation is one that occurs without previous training.


106

A. YesB. No

“MARK”Trained by Dawn

MarkSallyTom

We know Dawn TRAINED Al to touch Mark’s photo upon hearing Mark’s name…

However now Al can now also touch Mark’s written name when Dawn touches Mark’s photo: Is this an emergent

relation?

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MarkSallyTom

A. YesB. No



relation?Actually this relation is emergent. Training was not involved with the matching between the photo and the

written name.

108


MarkSallyTom

Left-click your

answer

A. YesB. No



relation?Yes, You‘ve got it!There was no previous

training of matching the photo with the written name.

109

A. YesB. No


Mark

Sally

Tom

Emergent Relation: Transitive &

Symm

etrical

Now lets look at the next matching between Dawn saying the

name “Mark” and Al touching the name Mark. He could do this

before training so is it an emergent relation?

110

A. YesB. No


Mark

Sally

Tom


Symm

etrical

You’ve got it. Al had been

trained in the past to touch the name with

the spoken name. Even

though Dawn did not train

this response.

Now lets look at the next matching between Dawn saying the



111

A. YesB. No


Mark

Sally

Tom


Symm

etrical

Try again. Al had been

trained in the past to touch the written

name when he heard the

spoken name. He may not have been trained by

Dawn but he was trained in

the past.Now lets look at the next matching between Dawn saying the



112

Mark

Sally

Tom

“MARK”

A. YesB. No

Ok, one more step. Was the matching between Dawn touching

the photo of “Mark” and Al saying the name “Mark” emergent?

113

A. YesB. No

Mark

Sally

Tom

“MARK” There was no previous

training of Al saying the name

“Mark” when Dawn would

touch the picture of “Mark”



114

A. YesB. No

Mark

Sally

Tom

“MARK”Yes, You’ve got it.

Al had not been trained to say the

name “Mark” when Dawn

touched the photo of “Mark.”



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MarkSallyTom

Emergent Relation: Both sym

metrical and transitive

Learned Earlier: Symmetrical

Emergent Relation: Symmetrical


Let’s Review…

116

So here is one more concept you need to So here is one more concept you need to understand…understand…

A A stimulus classstimulus class (concept) is a set of stimuli all of (concept) is a set of stimuli all of which have some common physical property.which have some common physical property.

For example, red apples is a concept that has such common physical properties as color, size, shape, and taste

But an equivalence class is a set of arbitrary symbolic stimuli that do not need to have common physical properties. For example…

“MARK”MarkSallyTom

The spoken and writtenname share no commonphysical properties witheach other. Instead they

are symbolic stimuli.

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So, lets check and see if you really understand the

difference between Stimulus classes and Equivalence

classes?

A. Stimulus ClassB. Equivalence Class

Are actual varieties of shoes a stimulus class or Are actual varieties of shoes a stimulus class or an equivalence class?an equivalence class?

118


Are actual varieties of shoes a stimulus class or an equivalence class?

Yes, you’ve got it! Shoes have common physical properties as color and shape. So it is a

stimulus class

119


Are actual varieties of shoes a stimulus class or an equivalence class?

No, its not an equivalence class because all shoes are not symbolic of each other, they have common physical

properties.

120

“Shirt”


Now, lets try another one. “Shirt” (written and spoken) and actual shirts an example of a/an…

121

“Shirt”



Yes. When Dawn said “shirt” this was symbolic of Al touching the shirt. This is an equivalence

class.

122

“Shirt”



No. When Dawn said “shirt” this was symbolic of Al touching the shirt. This is an equivalence class. Not a stimulus

class because they don’t have similar physical

properties.

123

“Clock”

“Clock”


Is this matching symmetrical or transitive?

Now let’s test how well you understand stimulus Now let’s test how well you understand stimulus equivalence.equivalence.

Dawn trained Al to touch the clock when she said Dawn trained Al to touch the clock when she said “clock.” As a result Al was able to say “clock” “clock.” As a result Al was able to say “clock”

when Dawn touched the clock.when Dawn touched the clock.

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“Clock”

“Clock”


No. This matching is not transitive. It is symmetrical because Dawn trained Al to

touch the clock. Al was able to say the name because he was previously reinforced. Try

again.

Now let’s test how well you understand stimulus Now let’s test how well you understand stimulus equivalenceequivalence..

Dawn trained Al to touch the clock when she said Dawn trained Al to touch the clock when she said “clock.” As a result Al was able to say “clock” when “clock.” As a result Al was able to say “clock” when

Dawn touched the clock.Dawn touched the clock.

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Dawn trained Al to touch the clock when she Dawn trained Al to touch the clock when she said “clock.” As a result Al was able to say said “clock.” As a result Al was able to say

“clock” when Dawn touched the clock.“clock” when Dawn touched the clock.“Cloc

k”

“Clock”



Yes. Good Job. Al’s behavior of touching the clock was symmetrical to

Al saying the clock.


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“Clock”

“Clock”

A. SymbolicB. Identity

What kind of matching do we have?

Dawn trained Al to touch the clock when she said Dawn trained Al to touch the clock when she said “clock.” As a result Al was able to say “clock” when “clock.” As a result Al was able to say “clock” when

Dawn touched the clock.Dawn touched the clock.


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“Clock”

“Clock”




Yes. Good Job. The matching between Dawn

and Al’s behavior was symbolic.


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“Clock”

“Clock”




No. This matching is not identity matching. The samples are not identical. Dawn saying

“clock” matched with Al physically touching the clock is

not identical!


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“Clock”

“Clock”

A. EmergentB. Not Emergent

Was Al’s saying “clock” in the presence of Dawn touching the clock emergent?




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“Clock”

“Clock”


Yes. Al behavior of saying “clock,” was not trained. So it the behavior was

emergent!




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“Clock”

“Clock”





No. Al’s behavior of saying “clock” was not

trained. So the behavior is emergent.


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Before this training Al was able to touch the written word Before this training Al was able to touch the written word clock when Dawn said “clock.”clock when Dawn said “clock.”

A. SymmetricalB. Transitive

Is the last symbolic matching symmetrical or transitive?

CLOCK

BEAR CUP

“Clock”

Now Al can touch the written word, clock Now Al can touch the written word, clock when Dawn touches the clock.when Dawn touches the clock.

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Is the last symbolic matching symmetrical or transitive?No. Al behavior of touching the

written name clock is not symmetrical to Dawn touching the

clock. TRY AGAIN!

CLOCK

BEAR CUP

“Clock”

Before this training Al was able to touch the written Before this training Al was able to touch the written word clock when Dawn said “clock.”word clock when Dawn said “clock.”

Now Al can touch the written word, clock Now Al can touch the written word, clock when Dawn touches the clock.when Dawn touches the clock.

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Before this training Al was able to touch the written word Before this training Al was able to touch the written word clock when Dawn said “clock.” Now Al can touch the clock when Dawn said “clock.” Now Al can touch the

written word, clock when Dawn touches the clock.written word, clock when Dawn touches the clock.


Is the last symbolic matching symmetrical or transitive?

Yes. Al behavior of touching the written name clock is transitive of

Dawn physically touching the clock.

CLOCK

BEAR CUP

“Clock”

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The stimuli involved in the matching below make up The stimuli involved in the matching below make up what kind of class?what kind of class?

“Clock”

“Clock”

A. Equivalence classB. Stimulus class

CLOCK

BEAR CUP

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“Clock”

“Clock”


CLOCK

BEAR CUP

Yes. The matching between Dawn saying “clock,” and Al

touching the clock is an equivalence class because they do not have common physical

properties.

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“Clock”

“Clock”


CLOCK

BEAR CUP

No. Dawn saying “clock,” and Al touching the clock does not have common physical properties, so it

can’t be a stimulus class.

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GREAT JOB ON FINISHING THE GREAT JOB ON FINISHING THE STIMULUS EQUIVALENCE STIMULUS EQUIVALENCE

WORKSHOWWORKSHOW

THE END!!!THE END!!!

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Original Creators:Becky Kehe Jason Otto

Revised (Spring 2005):Greg Partlo

Conny Raaymakers

Revised Fall 2005/ Spring 2006Kristen Gaisford

Spiritual

Stimulus Equivalence