an observation on stimulus control in a tilt discrimina tion by children' - stoddard, 1968

4
JOURNAL OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR AN OBSERVATION ON STIMULUS CONTROL I N A TILT DISCRIMINA TION B Y CHILDREN' LAWRENCE T. STODDARD MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL Most children w h o learned t o discriminate opposing 45 ° line tilts o n a relational basis-oddity -did n o t learn t h e specific direction o f t h e positive tilt. Most children w h o d i d n o t u se oddity did discriminate t h e specific tilt. When a teaching method permits more than o n e basis f o r a discrimination, different stimuli m ay c on tr ol the behavior o f subjects whose observed behavior appears identical. Which stimulus aspect acquires control m a y b e unpre- dictable from t h e training procedures them- selves (Butter, 1963; Fink a n d Patton, 1953; Lashley, 1938; Newman a n d Baron, 1965; Ray, 1967; Reynolds, 1961; Warren, 1953). Th e present study extends this finding t o a rela- tional discrimination-oddity-and t o children a s subjects. Oddity i s a relational concept, specifying nothing about t h e positive a n d negative stimuli except that they a r e different. I t i s relevant t o inquire whether children w h o learn t o u s e oddity also learn t o discriminate t h e particular stimulus aspect which would permit them t o recognize t h e positive stimulus without a n oddity basis. Th e children i n this experiment h a d suc- cessfully completed a series o f discrimination- transfer programs which taught them t o choose a line tilted 4 5 0 t o t h e right o f vertical from seven lines tilted 4 5 0 t o t h e left o f verti- cal. Throughout training, every trial simul- taneously presented seven identical incorrect stimuli a n d on e correct stimulus. A child could thus learn t o u s e a n oddity basis f o r correct choices, i.e., t o choose t h e o ne stimulus that differed from al l others. Techniques were d e - vised t o identify t h e children wh h a d learned 'This research w a s supported by Public Health Service Research Grant NB 03535 from t h e Institute o f Neurological Diseases a n d Blindness. Th e author i s indebted t o Barbara Dine, F . Garth Fletcher, Christine Tufts, a n d Martha Willson f o r their help with t h e experimental procedures. Reprints m a y be obtained from t he author, Neurology Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114. t h e oddity discrimination a n d those w h o h a d not. Th e children were then tested to deter- mine whether they h a d learned a specific tilt discrimination a s a basis for choosing t h e o d d stimulus. Those children w h o h a d learned t h e oddity concept h a d n o t learned which tilt was positive and which negative; those w ho d i d n o t learn oddity were able t o discriminate the positive a n d negative tilts. METHOD Subjects Th e experimental subjects were 3 7 children, divided into t w o groups: o n e containing 2 5 oddity subjects (age range: 4-yr-10-months t o 12-10; median: 6-7), a n d th e other containing 1 2 nonoddity subjects (age range: 4 - 7 t o 9-3; median: 5-7). I n addition, (age range: 8 - 0 t o 15-8; median: 10-11) served a s controls, t o b e described below. Except f o r t w o retarded children i n t h e nonoddity group, a l l subjects were considered behaviorally a n d neurologically normal b y their physicians a t t h e Massachusetts General Hospital, where t h e children were temporarily hospitalized f o r general medical reasons. Procedure Th e child worked a t a panel of eight trans- lucent response keys, onto which stimuli could b e projected from t h e rear b y means o f 35-mm slides (schematically diagrammed i n Fig. 1 ) . A trial ended when t h e child pressed t h e ke y con- taining t h e correct stimulus f o r a given stimu- l u s array; chimes rang a n d automatic devices dispensed a n M&M chocolate a n d a token e x - changeable after t h e session f o r toys o r pennies. I f t h e child's first choice o n a trial w a s 3 2 1 1968, 1 1 , 321-324 NUMBER 3 (MAY)

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Page 1: AN OBSERVATION ON STIMULUS CONTROL IN A TILT DISCRIMINA TION BY CHILDREN' - Stoddard, 1968

8/2/2019 AN OBSERVATION ON STIMULUS CONTROL IN A TILT DISCRIMINA TION BY CHILDREN' - Stoddard, 1968

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/an-observation-on-stimulus-control-in-a-tilt-discrimina-tion-by-children 1/4

JOURNAL OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR

AN OBSERVATION ON STIMULUS CONTROL IN ATILT DISCRIMINA TION BY CHILDREN'

LAWRENCE T . S T O D D A R DM A S S A C H U S E T T S G E N E R A L H O S P I T A L

M o s t c h i l d r e n who l e a r n e d t o d i s c r i m i n a t e o p p o s i n g 4 5 ° l i n e t i l t s o n a r e l a t i o n a l b a s i s - o d d i t y

- d i d n o t l e a r n t h e s p e c i f i c d i r e c t i o n o f t h e p o s i t i v e t i l t . M o s t c h i l d r e n who d i d n o t u s e

o d d i ty d i d d i s c r i m i n a t e t h e s p e c i f i c t i l t .

When a t e a c h i n g m e t h o d p e r m i t s more t h a n

o n e b a s i s f o r a d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , d i f f e r e n t s t i m u l im ay c on tr ol t h e b e h a v i o r o f s u b j e c t s w h o s e

o b s e r v e d b e h a v i o r a p p e a r s i d e n t i c a l . Whichs t i m u l u s a s p e c t a c q u i r e s c o n t r o l m ay b e u n p r e -

d i c t a b l e f r o m t h e t r a i n i n g p r o c e d u r e s t h e m -

s e l v e s ( B u t t e r , 1 9 6 3 ; F i n k a n d P a t t o n , 1 9 5 3 ;L a s h l e y , 1 9 3 8 ; Newman a n d B a r o n , 1 9 6 5 ; R a y ,

1 9 6 7 ; R e y n o l d s , 1 9 6 1 ; W a r r e n , 1 9 5 3 ) . Thep r e s e n t s t u d y e x t e n d s t h i s f i n d i n g t o a r e l a -t i o n a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n - o d d i t y - a n d t o c h i l d r e n

a s s u b j e c t s . O d d i t y i s a r e l a t i o n a l c o n c e p t ,

s p e c i f y i n g n o t h i n g a b o u t t h e p o s i t i v e a n dn e g a t i v e s t i m u l i e x c e p t t h a t t h e y a r e d i f f e r e n t .I t i s r e l e v a n t t o i n q u i r e w h e t h e r c h i l d r e n whol e a r n t o u s e o d d i t y a l s o l e a r n t o d i s c r i m i n a t e

t h e p a r t i c u l a r s t i m u l u s a s p e c t w h i c h w o u l d

p e r m i t t h e m t o r e c o g n i z e t h e p o s i t i v e s t i m u l u s

w i t h o u t a n o d d i t y b a s i s .The c h i l d r e n i n t h i s e x p e r i m e n t h a d s u c -

c e s s f u l l y c o m p l e t e d a s e r i e s o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n -

t r a n s f e r p r o g r a m s w h i c h t a u g h t t h e m t o

c h o o s e a l i n e t i l t e d 4 5 0 t o t h e r i g h t o f v e r t i c a lf r o m s e v e n l i n e s t i l t e d 4 5 0 to t h e l e f t o f v e r t i -c a l . T h r o u g h o u t t r a i n i n g , e v e r y t r i a l s i m u l -t a n e o u s l y p r e s e n t e d s e v e n i d e n t i c a l i n c o r r e c ts t i m u l i a n d o n e c o r r e c t s t i m u l u s . A c h i l d c o u l d

t h u s l e a r n t o u s e a n o d d i t y b a s i s f o r c o r r e c t

c h o i c e s , i . e . , t o c h o o s e t h e one s t i m u l u s t h a td i f f e r e d f r o m a l l o t h e r s . T e c h n i q u e s w e r e d e -v i s e d t o i d e n t i f y t h e c h i l d r e n who h a d l e a r n e d

' Th i s r e s e ar c h was s u p p o r t e d b y P u b l i c H e a l t h

S e r v i c e R e s e a r c h G r a n tNB

0 3 5 3 5 f r o m t h e I n s t i t u t eo f N e u r o l o g i c a l D i s e a s e s a n d B l i n d n e s s . The a u t h o r i s

i n d e b t e d t o B a r b a r a D i n e , F . G a r t h F l e t c h e r , C h r i s t i n e

T u f t s , a n d M a r t h a W i l l s o n f o r t h e i r h e l p w i t h t h e

e x p e r i m e n t a l p r o c e d u r e s . R e p r i n t s m ay b e o b t a i n e d

f r o m t h e a u t h o r , N e u r o l o g y R e s e a r c h , M a s s a c h u s e t t s

G e n e r a l H o s p i t a l , B o s t o n , M a s s a c h u s e t t s 0 2 1 1 4 .

t h e o d d i t y d i s c r i m i n a ti o n a n d t h o s e who h a d

n o t . Th e c h i l d r e n w e r e t h e n t e s t e d t o d e t e r -m i n e w h e t h e r t h e y h a d l e a r n e d a s p e c i f i c t i l t

d i s c r i m i n a t i o n a s a b a s i s f o r c h o o s i n g t h e o d ds t i m u l u s . T h o s e c h i l d r e n who h a d l e a r n e d t h e

o d d i t y c o n c e p t h a d n o t l e a r n e d w h i c h t i l t w a s

p o s i t i v e a n d w h i c h n e g a t i v e ; t h o s e who d i d

n o t l e a r n o d d i t y w e r e a b l e t o d i sc r i m i n a te t h e

p o s i t i v e a n d n e g a t i v e t i l t s .

METHOD

S u b j e c t sThe e x p e r i m e n t a l s u b j e c t s w e r e 3 7 c h i l d r e n ,

d i v i d e d i n t o t w o g r o u p s : o n e c o n t a i n i n g 2 5

o d d i t y s u b j e c t s ( a g e r a n g e : 4 - y r - 1 0 - m o n t h s t o1 2 - 1 0 ; m e d i a n : 6 - 7 ) , a n d t h e o t h e r c o n t a i n i n g

1 2 n o n o d d i t y s u b j e c t s ( a g e r a n g e : 4 - 7 t o 9 - 3 ;m e d i a n : 5 - 7 ) . I n a d d i t i o n , 2 5 o l d e r c h i l d r e n

( a g e r a n g e : 8 - 0 t o 1 5 - 8 ; m e d i a n : 1 0 - 1 1 ) s e r v e d

a s c o n t r o l s , t o b e d e s c r i b e d b e l ow . E x c e p t f o rt w o r e t a r d e d c h i l d r e n i n t h e n o n o d d i t y g r o u p ,

a l l s u b j e c t s w e r e c o n s i d e r e d b e h a v i o r a l l y a n d

n e u r o l o g i c a l l y n o r m a l b y t h e i r p h y s i c i a n s a t

t h e M a s s a c h u s e t t s G e n e r a l H o s p i t a l , w h e r e t h e

c h i l d r e n w e r e t e m p o r a r i l y h o s p i t a l i z e d f o rg e n e r a l m e d i c a l r e a s o n s .

P r o c e d u r e

The c h i l d w o r k e d a t a p a n e l o f e i g h t t r a n s -l u c e n t r e s p on s e k e y s , o n t o w h i c h s t i m u l i c o u l d

b e p r o j e c t e d f r o m t h e r e a r b y means o f 3 5 - m ms l i d e s ( s c h e m a t i c a l l y d i a g r a m m e d i n F i g . 1 ) . A

t r i a l e n d e d when t h e c h i l d p r e s s e d t h e k e y c o n -

t a i n i n g t h e c o r r e c t s t i m u l u s f o r a g i v e n s t i m u -

l u s a r r a y ; c h i m e s r a n g a n d a u t o m a t i c d e v i c e sd i s p e n s e d a n M&M c h o c o l a t e a n d a t o k e n e x -

c h a n g e a b l e a f t e r t h e s e s s i o n f o r t o y s o r

p e n n i e s . I f t h e c h i l d ' s f i r s t c h o i c e on a t r i a l was

3 2 1

1 9 6 8 , 1 1 , 3 2 1 - 3 2 4 NUMBER 3 ( M A Y )

Page 2: AN OBSERVATION ON STIMULUS CONTROL IN A TILT DISCRIMINA TION BY CHILDREN' - Stoddard, 1968

8/2/2019 AN OBSERVATION ON STIMULUS CONTROL IN A TILT DISCRIMINA TION BY CHILDREN' - Stoddard, 1968

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/an-observation-on-stimulus-control-in-a-tilt-discrimina-tion-by-children 2/4

LAWRENCE T . STODDARD

c o r r e c t , t h e s l i d e t r a y a d v a n c e d t o p r e s e n t t h e

n e x t a r r a y . When t h e c h i l d made a n e r r o r

n o t h i n g h a p p e n e d ; t h e a r r a y d i d n o t c h a n g eu n t i l t h e c h i l d s e l e c t e d t h e c o r r e c t s t i m u l u s ,a n d t h e n t h e s l i d e t r a y b a c k e d u p , p r e s e n t i n g

t h e p r e c e d i n g a r r a y t o t h e c h i l d a g a i n ( c o r -r e c t i o n a n d b a c k u p p r o c e d u r e s ) .

I n s t r u c t i o n s w e r e l i m i t e d t o a c q u a i n t i n g t h e

c h i l d w i t h t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l room a n d t h e r e -i n f o r c e m e n t - d e l i v e r y a n d t o k e n - e x c h a n g e s y s -t e m s , a n d t o s h a p i n g h i s f i r s t k e y - p r e s s . ( C o m -p l e t e d e s c r i p t i o n s o f t h e a p p a r a t u s a n d g e n e r a l

p r o c e d u r e s a r e c o n t a i n e d i n S i d m a n a n d

S t o d d a r d , 1 9 6 6 ; 1 9 6 7 . )

A B\ ~ ~ ~ ~

CD

F i g . 1 . S c h e m a t i c d i a g r a m s o f t h e k e y m a t r i x s h o w -

i n g t h e p l a c e m e n t o f t h e s t i m u l i on t h e f o l l o w i n gs l i d e s : t h e l a s t t h r e e s l i d e s o f t h e c r i t e r i o n t e s t ( A , B ,a n d C ) c o n t a i n i n g t h e c o r r e c t l i n e t i l t e d 4 5 o t o t h er i g h t o f v e r t i c a l a n d s e v e n i n c o r r e c t l i n e s t i l t e d 4 5 0 t ot h e l e f t o f v e r t i c a l ; t h e s t i m u l u s - r e v e r s a l p r o b e . s l i d e( D ) t o t e s t f o r o d d i t y p e r f o r m a n c e ; a n d t h e f o u r t w o -

c h o i c e s l i d e s ( E , F , G , a n d H ) t o t e s t t h e e f f e c t s o fr e m o v i n g o d d i t y a s a p o s s i b l e b a s i s f o r t h e d i s c r i m i n a -t i o n .

The O r i g i n a l T i l t D i s c r i m i n a t i o n

F i g u r e 1 i l l u s t r a t e s t h e s e r i e s o f t e s t a r r a y s ;e a c h l e t t e r e d b o x s c h e m a t i c a l l y d i a g r a m s t h es t i m u l u s a r r a y o n a g i v e n s l i d e . A , B , a n d Ci l l u s t r a t e

t h el a s t t h r e e o f s i x

c r i t e r i o n s l i d e sw h i c h m e a s u r e d t h e c h i l d r e n ' s p e r f o r m a n c eo n t h e e i g h t - c h o i c e t i l t e d - l i n e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n .

The s i n g l e 4 5 0 l i n e t i l t i n g r i g h t o f v e r t i c a l w a st h e c o r r e c t s t i m u l u s . The 3 7 e x p e r i m e n t a l s u b -j e c t s c o m p l e t e d t h e s e s i x s l i d e s w i t h n o moret h a n t w o i n c o r r e c t t r i a l s ( i . e . , a t r i a l o n w h i c ht h e c h i l d made a t l e a s t o n e i n c o r r e c t k e y - p r e s s ) .B e c a u s e o f t h e b a c k u p c o n d i t i o n , t w o i n c o r r e c tt r i a l s t h e n n e c e s s i t a t e d a t o t a l o f e i g h t c o r r e c tt r i a l s f o r t h e c h i l d t o a d v a n c e t h r o u g h t h e s i x

s l i d e s .

P r o b e a n d T e s t P r o c e d u r e s

A f t e r t h e c h i l d r e n c o m p l e t e d t h e t i l t e d - l i n ep r o g r a m , t h e y w e r e t e s t e d f i r s t t o d e t e r m i n ei f a n y h a d l e a r n e d t o u s e o d d i t y a s a b a s i s f o rc h o o s i n g b e t w e e n t h e o p p o s i n g t i l t e d l i n e s . I fs o , w o u l d t h e r e m o v a l o f a n o d d i t y b a s i s a f f e c tt h e i r d i s c r i m i n a t i o n p e r f o r m a n c e ?A s t i m u l u s - r e v e r s a l p r o b e s l i d e ( F i g . I D ) i m -

m e d i a t e l y f o l l ow e d t h e c r i t e r i o n t e s t . T w e l v e

c h i l d r e n c h o s e o n e o f t h e s e v e n p r e v i o u s l y c o r -r e c t t i l t e d l i n e s a n d w e r e c l a s s i f i e d a s " n o n -

o d d i t y " s u b j e c t s . T w e n t y - f i v e c h i l d r e n s e l e c t e dt h e o d d l i n e , w h i c h h a d b e e n i n c o r r e c t d u r i n gt r a i n i n g . T h e s e c h i l d r e n b e c a m e " o d d i t y " s u b -j e c t s . W h i c h e v e r s ' i m u l u s t h e c h i l d s e l e c t e d ,h i s f i r s t k e y - p r e s s e n d e d t h e p r o b e t r i a l w i t h -

o u t r e i n f o r c e m e n t ; n o b a c k u p w a s p e r m i t t e df r o m t h e f o l l o w i n g s l i d e i f h e m a d e e r r o r s .The n e x t f o u r s l i d e s ( F i g . I E , I F , I G , I H )

c o n t a i n e d o n l y o n e i n c o r r e c t l i n e , i n s t e a d o f

s e v e n , a n d t e s t e d t h e e f f e c t s o f r e m o v i n g o d d -i t y a s a p o s s i b l e b a s i s f o r t h e c h i l d ' s c h o i c e s .A s i n o r i g i n a l - t r a i n i n g , t h e c h i l d ' s s e l e c t i o no f t h e l i n e w h i c h t i l t e d to t h e r i g h t w a s a g a i nr e i n f o r c e d . C h i l d r e n who h a d l e a r n e d t o r e c -

o g n i z e t h e p a r t i c u l a r c o r r e c t t i l t c o u l d c o n -

t i n u e to r e s p o n d c o r r e c t l y ; c h i l d r e n who h a dn o t w o u l d m a k e e r r o r s .

RESULTS

F i g u r e 2 s h o w s , f o r e a c h g r o u p , f r e q u e n c yd i s t r i b u t i o n s o f s u b j e c t s who made t h e i n d i -c a t e d n u m b e r o f e r r o r s on t h e f o u r t w o - c h o i c e

s l i d e s . The n u m b e r o f e r r o r s i n c l u d e s o n l y t h ef i r s t e r r o r o n a t r i a l . M u l t i p l e e r r o r s on a t r i a l

3 2 2

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8/2/2019 AN OBSERVATION ON STIMULUS CONTROL IN A TILT DISCRIMINA TION BY CHILDREN' - Stoddard, 1968

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STIMULUS CONTROL IN A TILT DISCRIMINATION

w e r e i n f r e q u e n t a n d a l m o s t a l w a y s w e r e r e -

p e a t e d p r e s s e s o f t h e s i n g l e i n c o r r e c t t i l t . Thec h i l d r e n r a r e l y p r e s s e d b l a n k k e y s ( o n l y t h r e e

t i m e s a s f i r s t c h o i c e s , b y t w o o d d i t y s u b j e c t s ) .O n l y t h r e e o f t h e 2 5 o d d i t y s u b j e c t s ( 1 2 % )

r e s p o n d e d t o t h e t w o - c h o i c e s l i d e sw i t h o u t

e r r o r ; 8 o f 1 2 n o n o d d i t y s u b j e c t s ( 6 7 % ) d i d

s o . E i g h t e e n o f 2 5 c h i l d r e n i n t h e o d d i t y g r o u p

made e r r o r s o n more t h a n o n e t r i a l ; o n l y 1 o f1 2 i n t h e n o n o d d i t y g r o u p d i d s o .

D i d t h e o d d i t y s u b j e c t s c h o o s e t h e w r o n g

l i n e on t h e t w o - c h o i c e s l i d e s s i m p l y b e c a u s e

t h e y h a d s e l e c t e d t h a t l i n e on t h e p r e c e d i n g

r e v e r s a l p r o b e ( F i g . I D ) ? To a n s w e r t h i s q u e s -

t i o n , 2 5 a d d i t i o n a l c h i l d r e n r e c e i v e d t h e t w o -

c h o i c e s l i d e s d i r e c t l y a f t e r t h e e i g h t - c h o i c e c r i -

t e r i o n s l i d e s , w i t h o u t t h e i n t e r v e n i n g r e v e r s a lp r o b e . T h i s c o n t r o l g r o u p w a s c o m p o s e d o fs o m e w h a t o l d e r c h i l d r e n ( m i n i m u m a g e , 8 - 1 0 )i n o r d e r t o i n c r e a s e t h e l i k e l i h o o d t h a t t h e yw o u l d h a v e l e a r n e d t o u s e o d d i t y . P r e v i o u s l yr e p o r t e d d a t a s u p p o r t t h i s e x p e c t a t i o n ( S i d -m an a n d S t o d d a r d , 1 9 6 6 ) ; a l s o , t h e o l d e s t n o r -

m a l n o n o d d i t y s u b j e c t w a s 7 - 5 . The no

r e v e r s a l - p r o b e s u b j e c t s c o m p l e t e d t h e d i s -

c r i m i n a t i o n - t r a n s f e r p r o g r a m s a n d met c o m -

p a r a b l e c r i t e r i a f o r l e a r n i n g t h e o r i g i n a l

e i g h t - c h o i c e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n .F i g u r e 2 s h o w s t h a t o n l y s i x o f t h e 2 5 n o -

p r o b e c h i l d r e n ( 2 4 % ) made no e r r o r s on t h e

t w o - c h o i c e s l i d e s . N i n e t e e n c h i l d r e n c h o s e t h e

i n c o r r e c t t i l t a t l e a s t o n c e e v e n w i t h o u t a

h i s t o r y o f h a v i n g c h o s e n i t on t h e r e v e r s a lp r o b e . T h e r e f o r e , i t s e e m s u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e

o d d i t y s u b j e c t s ' c h o i c e on t h e r e v e r s a l - p r o b et r i a l c o u l d a c c o u n t f o r t h e i r e r r o r s on t h e

t w o - c h o i c e t e s t .

I f t h e c h i l d r e n h a d n o t l e a r n e d t o r e c o g n i z e

t h e c o r r e c t l i n e , 50% w o u l d b e e x p e c t e d t o

make e r r o r s when t h e y e n c o u n t e r e d t h e f i r s t

t w o - c h o i c e s l i d e . I n t h e o d d i t y a n d n o - p r o b e

g r o u p s , 64% a n d 6 0 % , r e s p e c t i v e l y , made a n

e r r o r on t h e f i r s t s l i d e ; i n c o n t r a s t , o n l y 17%o f t h e n o n o d d i t y s u b j e c t s d i d s o .

DISCUSSION

A l t h o u g h t h e r e c o r d e d b e h a v i o r o f a l l t h e

s u b j e c t s on t h e e i g h t - c h o i c e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n

a p p e a r e d i d e n t i c a l , t e s t i n g t h e m on t h e t w o -

c h o i c e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n r e v e a l e d d i f f e r e n t b a s e sf o r t h e i r c o r r e c t p e r f o r m a n c e . A m a j o r i t y o fn o n o d d i t y s u b j e c t s r e c o g n i z e d t h e s p e c i f i c t i l t ,

o r some s p e c i f i c s t i m u l u s c o r r e l a t e d w i t h t i l t .

8 -

6 -

4 -

. . )

-8

( 6

U.

0 4a :

X 2 -

Z 0

6

4

2

ODDITY SUBJECTS

NONODDITY1UBJECTS

I I I

NO REVERSAL-PROBE

F n SUBJECTS

0 1 2 345 6789

NUMBER OF ERRORS

F i g . 2 . F r e q u e n c y d i s t r i b u t i o n s o f s u b j e c t s who made

t h e i n d i c a t e d number o f e r r o r s on t h e f o u r t w o - c h o i c es l i d e s . D a t a a r e s h o w n s e p a r a t e l y f o r e a c h o f t h e t h r e e

g r o u p s . The number o f e r r o r s i n c l u d e s o n l y t h e f i r s t

e r r o r on a t r i a l . The o p e n b a r s s h o w s u b j e c t s whomade no e r r o r s .

3 2 3

O

e

,\

Page 4: AN OBSERVATION ON STIMULUS CONTROL IN A TILT DISCRIMINA TION BY CHILDREN' - Stoddard, 1968

8/2/2019 AN OBSERVATION ON STIMULUS CONTROL IN A TILT DISCRIMINA TION BY CHILDREN' - Stoddard, 1968

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3 2 4 LAWRENCE T . STODDARD

On t h e o t h e r h a n d , m o s t c h i l d r e n who w e r e

i n t e l l i g e n t e n o u g h t o h a v e l e a r n e d a n o d d i t y

b a s i s f o r d i s c r i m i n a t i n g t h e c o r r e c t l i n e d i d

n o t o b s e r v e i t s s p e c i f i c d i r e c t i o n o f t i l t . E v e n

m o s t c h i l d r e n i n t h e n o - p r o b e g r o u p , d e s p i t e

b e i n g o l d e r a n d p r e s u m a b l y more s k i l l e d i nn o t i c i n g d e t a i l s i n t h e i r e n v i r o n m e n t , madee r r o r s . ( F i v e o d d i t y - g r o u p s u b j e c t s w e r e 8 y r o fa g e o r o l d e r a n d f o u r o f t h e m made e r r o r s . )

T h i s f i n d i n g h a s p r o v e n s u f f i c i e n t l y r e l i a b l et o s e r v e a s a c l a s s r o o m d e m o n s t r a t i o n w i t h

a d u l t s .The p r o c e d u r e s o f t h i s e x p e r i m e n t d o n o t

p e r m i t a p r e c i s e s t a t e m e n t o f w h a t s t i m u l ie a c h i n d i v i d u a l c h i l d o b s e r v e d . The n o n -

o d d i t y s u b j e c t s n e e d n o t h a v e u s e d l i n e t i l t ;

f o r e x a m p l e , t h e y m i g h t s i m p l y h a v e o b se r v e dt h e l o c a t i o n o f t h e u p p e r ( o r l o w e r ) e n d o ft h e c o r r e c t l i n e on i t s k e y .What t h e o d d i t y s u b j e c t s o b s e r v e d a s a

b a s i s f o r c h o o s i n g t h e o d d s t i m u l u s h a d t od e p e n d o n s o m e r e l a t i o n o f t h e o d d t i l t t o t w o

o r m o r e o p p o s i n g t i l t s . F i g u r e 1 m ay s u g g e s t

s o m e p o s s i b i l i t i e s ; f o r e x a m p l e , t h e o d d l i n ea l w a y s i n t e r s e c t s a t r i g h t a n g l e s w i t h t h e t w o

a d j a c e n t l i n e s . Some o f t h e c h i l d r e n ' s c o m -

m e n t s when t h e y s a w t h e f i r s t t w o - c h o i c e s l i d e

m ay b e i l l u m i n a t i n g : " T h i s i s o n e t h a t ' s h a r d ;

t h e y ' r e b o t h p o i n t i n g t h e s a m e w a y . " " I d o n ' t

know w h i c h o n e t o d o ; t h e y ' r e b o t h e a c h

w a y . " B o t h o f t h e s e c h i l d r e n made s e v e r a le r r o r s , t h e i r i n i t i a l e r r o r s o c c u r r i n g on t h e

f i r s t s l i d e f o r o n e c h i l d a n d o n t h e s e c o n d f o rt h e o t h e r . B o t h comments s u g g e s t t h a t t h e s ec h i l d r e n c o u l d s e l e c t t h e o d d l i n e b y means

o f s o m e f e a t u r e r e l a t e d t o a n g u l a r o r i e n t a t i o n ,b u t t h a t t h e o p p o s i n g t i l t s w i t h o u t a n o d d i t y

b a s i s w e r e i d e n t i c a l t o t h e m . An a r t i c u l a t eo l d e r c h i l d s u m m a r i z e d t h e p r o b l e m : " T h e ys u d d e n l y make y o u r e a l i z e y o u s h o u l d h a v e

p a i d a t t e n t i o n t o w h i c h way t h e y g o . "

The p r e s e n t r e s u l t s e x p o s e a n d c l a r i f y t h e

n e e d t o i d e n t i f y t h e s p e c i f i c c o n t r o l l i n g

s t i m u l u s i n e x p e r i m e n t s o n c h i l d r e n ' s d i s c r i m i -n a t i o n a n d o d d i t y l e a r n i n g , e v e n when t h e

c o n t r o l s e e m s a d e q u a t e l y d e s c r i b e d b y a n a b -s t r a c t i o n l i k e " o d d i t y " . When a t e a c h i n g t e c h -

n i q u e e x p l i c i t l y r e q u i r e s o d d i t y - b a s e d r e -s p o n s e s , t h e c h i l d ' s s e l e c t i o n o f t h e o d ds t i m u l u s m i g h t n o t n e c e s s a r i l y i n c l u d e a t t e n -t i o n t o t h e p a r t i c u l a r f e a t u r e s o f t h e s t i m u l it h a t t h e t e a c h e r h a s s p e c i f i e d a s r e l e v a n t a n dw a n t s t h e c h i l d t o l e a r n .

REFERENCES

B u t t e r , C . M. S t i m u l u s g e n e r a l i z a t i o n a l o n g o n e a n d

t w o d i m e n s i o n s i n p i g e o n s . J o u r n a l o f E x p e r i m e n t a l

P s y c h o l o g y , 1 9 6 3 , 6 5 , 3 3 9 - 3 4 6 .

F i n k , J . B . a n d P a t t o n , R . M. D e c r e m e n t o f a l e a r n e dd r i n k i n g r e s p o n s e a c c o m p a n y i n g c h a n g e s i n s e v e r a ls t i m u l u s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . J o u r n a l o f C o m p a r a t i v ea n d P h y s i o l o g i c a l P s y c h o l o g y , 1 9 5 3 , 4 6 , 2 3 - 2 7 .

L a s h l e y , K . S . The m e c h a n i s m o f v i s i o n : XV. P r e -

l i m i n a r y s t u d i e s o f t h e r a t ' s c a p a c i t y f o r d e t a i lv i s i o n . J o u r n a l o f G e n e t i c P s y c h o l o g y , 1 9 3 8 , 1 8 ,1 2 3 - 1 9 3 .

Newman, F . L . a n d B a r o n , M. R . S t i m u l u s g e n e r a l i -z a t i o n a l o n g t h e d i m e n s i o n o f a n g u l a r i t y . J o u r n a lo f C o m p a r a t i v e a n d P h y s i o l o g i c a l P s y c h o l o g y ,

1 9 6 5 , 6 0 , 5 9 - 6 3 .R a y , B . A . The c o u r s e o f a c q u i s i ti on o f a l i n e - t i l t

d i s c r i m i n a t i o n b y r h e s u s m o n k e y s . J o u r n a l o f t h eE x p e r i m e n t a l A n a l y s i s o f B e h a v i o r , 1 9 6 7 , 1 0 , 1 7 - 3 3 .R e y n o l d s , G . S . A t t e n t i o n i n t h e p i g e o n . J o u r n a l o f

t h e E x p e r i m e n t a l A n a l y s i s o f B e h a v i o r , 1 9 6 1 , 4 ,

2 0 3 - 2 0 8 .S i d m a n , M. a n d S t o d d a r d , L . T . P r o g r a m m i n g p e r '

c e p t i o n a n d l e a r n i n g f o r r e t a r d e d c h i l d r e n . I n

N . R . E l l i s ( E d . ) , I n t e r n a t i o n a l r e v i e w o f r e s e a r c h

i n m e n t a l r e t a r d a t i o n , V o l . I I . New Y o r k : A c a d e m i cP r e s s , 1 9 6 6 . P p . 1 5 1 - 2 0 8 .

S i d m a n , M. a n d S t o d d a r d , L . T . The e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f

f a d i n g i n p r o g r a m m i n g a s i m u l t a n e o u s f o r m d i s -c r i m i n a t i o n f o r r e t a r d e d c h i l d r e n . J o u r n a l o f t h e

E x p e r i m e n t a l A n a l y s i s o f B e h a v i o r , 1 9 6 7 , 1 0 , 3 - 1 5 .W a r r e n , J . M. A d d i t i v i t y o f c u e s i n a v i s u a l p a t t e r n

d i s c r i m i n a t i o n b y m o n k e y s . J o u r n a l o f C o m p a r a t i v ea n d P h y s i o l o g i c a l P s y c h o l o g y , 1 9 5 3 , 4 6 , 4 8 4 - 4 8 6 .

R e c e i v e d 1 3 J u n e 1 9 6 7 .