No abstract

In three experiments, 165 adult participants were trained on 12 baseline conditional discriminations and tested for the formation of three 5‐member equivalence classes (A➔B➔C➔D➔E). All experiments included two reference groups; the abstract (ABS) group was trained with all abstract stimuli and the picture (PIC) group with C‐stimuli as meaningful pictorial stimuli but A, B, D, and E stimuli as abstract shapes. In Experiment 1, the color of the meaningful stimuli was manipulated. In the ABS, PIC, and black‐and‐white groups, 33.3%, 80%, and 93.3% formed equivalence classes, respectively. In Experiment 2, participants were exposed to a test block with and without trials that included C stimuli. For the groups with and without C trials in the test, 93.3% and 86.7% formed equivalence classes, respectively, compared to 20% in the ABS group. In Experiment 3, the number of meaningful pictures and their location in stimulus classes were manipulated. One group was trained with 3 pictures (C1/B2/D3, the 3‐PIC) while the other groups had 2 pictures (C1/B2 and C1/D3, the 2‐PIC). In the second test block for the ABS and PIC groups, 6.7% and 86% of the participants formed equivalence classes, respectively. For the 3‐PIC and the 2‐PIC groups, 66.7% and 50% of the participants formed equivalence classes, respectively. Results suggest that the effects of meaningful stimuli in equivalence classes (a) cannot be attributed to the use of colorful stimuli in previous studies, (b) occur during training and are not dependent on the presence of meaningful stimuli at test, and (c) are sensitive to stimulus location.

Previous experiments have investigated the function of using pictures or meaningful stimuli on equivalence class formation. For example, when attempting to form three 5-member classes (A→B→C→D→E), findings have shown that pictures used as C stimuli have increased the probability of producing equivalence class formation relative to when all stimuli in the stimulus set are abstract. The present experiment extends the literature by examining whether the formation of equivalence classes varies as a function of having three (C1, C2, and C3), two (C1 and C2), or one (C1) stimulus as a picture in a set of abstract stimuli. Hence, 60 participants were randomly assigned to 4 different experimental groups: 0-picture group or abstract group (ABS), 1-picture group (1PIC), 2-pictures group (2PIC), and 3-pictures group (3PIC). In addition, we had a reference group with abstract shapes only. The findings from the present experiment showed that 2 of 15 participants in the ABS formed classes. Also, two of 15 participants in the 1PIC formed classes, 8 of 15 participants in the 2PIC formed equivalence classes, and 12 of 15 members in the 3PIC formed classes. The statistical analysis supported the notion that equivalence class formation is a function of the number of pictures in a potential equivalence class.

No abstract

Employee health and well-being are central to HR practices; thus, they are a core component of organisations’ strategy. The mental health of employees has a significant impact on both individual and organisational outcomes. Research shows that poor mental health among employees leads to impoverished performance in areas such as innovation – which is an indispensable factor in promoting organisational success in today’s business environment plagued with constant and rapid changes. This study seeks to establish the relationship between mental health and innovative behaviour among Ghanaian bank employees. It further examines the effect of age on the mental health of the respondents. The study was quantitative and used a cross-sectional survey. Stratified random sampling was done to recruit a sample of 310 bank employees from five commercial banks that featured on the 2018 Ghana Club 100 list. A standardised questionnaire was used to gather the data from the sample. The respondents had a relatively high level of mental health and there was a positive significant correlation between mental health and innovative behaviour. Moreover, age had a significant impact on the mental health of the respondents with older employees having higher levels of mental health as compared to their younger counterparts. Employers should attempt to create and maintain an environment that promotes employee mental health so that they can benefit from the possible increase in employees’ innovative behaviour. The study provides empirical support for the direct relationship between mental health and innovative behaviour among bank employees and lays the foundation for more rigorous studies of the subject.