A Derived Transfer of Emotive Functions as a Means of Establishing Differential Preferences for Soft Drinks

Abstract

In Experiment 1, 36 subjects were exposed to a stimulus equivalence procedure during which they were trained to match the two nonsense syllables VEK and ZID to the emotive words CANCER and HOLIDAYS, respectively, and to match the product labels BRAND X and BRAND Y to the nonsense syllables. The subjects were then tested for equivalence responding (e.g., CANCER --. BRAND X, and HOLIDAYS ~ BRAND V). Finally subjects were presented with two samples of the same cola-based drink, one labeled BRAND X and the other labeled BRAND Y. Subjects were required to rate the colas for pleasantness. A significant difference in terms of the ratings of the pleasantness of the colas was found for the group who passed the equivalence test. The group of subjects who failed the equivalence test showed no significant difference in their ratings of the colas. Experiment 2 demonstrated that exposure to the equivalence test was not a prerequisite for the transfer of preference functions. Experiment 3 demonstrated that it is possible to reverse subjects' preferences for the two colas by reversing the trained conditional discriminations. Furthermore, unlike the previous two experiments, Experiment 3 assessed the preference functions for the emotive words before and after the conditional discrimination training and transfer testing.Conditioned attractions have been the focus of attention in research into advertising and marketing that seeks to examine how respondent or classical conditioning can be used to influence people to prefer and purchase commercial products (Gorn, 1982;Bierley, McSweeney, & Vannieuwkerk, 1985). In the study reported by Gorn (1982), for example, it was found that more students chose the color of a pen that had been associated with "liked" music rather than "disliked" music, thereby demonstrating that respondent conditioning can influence preferences. Furthermore, Bierley et al. (1985) found that preference ratings for stimuliWe thank Jon Williams and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive criticisms of an earlier version of the current article. Requests for reprints should be addressed to

Assessment of the Relatedness of Equivalent Stimuli Through a Semantic Differential

“…Thus, a stimulus that has certain behavioral functions can be taken as a "referent," and the stimuli equivalent to it can be regarded as "symbols" that can substitute for the referent in some occasions. Generalization or the transfer of functions among equivalent stimuli has been widely demonstrated (e.g., Barnes-Holmes et al, 2000;de Rose, McIlvane, Due, Galpin, & Stoddard, 1988;DeRose, McIlvane, Dube & Stoddard, 1988;Dougher et al, 1994;Hayes et al, 1991). In addition to transfer of functions, a large number of experimental studies have shown a congruence between the properties of equivalence classes and symbolic relations (e.g., Barnes-Holmes et al, 2005;Bush, Sidman, & de Rose, 1989;Saunders, Saunders, Kirby, & Spradlin, 1988;Sidman & Tailby, 1982;Wulfert & Hayes, 1988).…”

“…Some studies have demonstrated that Likert-type scales are efficient devices to investigate transfer of functions in equivalence classes (e.g., Barnes-Holmes et al, 2000). Thus, we expected that the semantic differential would be sensitive to changes in meaning induced by equivalent relations.…”

“…One possible strategy for assessing the relatedness of equivalent stimuli would involve measurement of the transfer of functions established between them. Many studies have shown that a function acquired by a member of an equivalence class will transfer to other class members (e.g., Barnes-Holmes, Keane, Barnes-Holmes, & Smeets, 2000;de Rose, McIlvane, Dube, Galpin, & Stoddard, 1988;de Rose, McIlvane, Dube, & Stoddard, 1988;Dougher, Augustson, Markham, Greenway, & Wulfert, 1994;Hayes, Kohlenberg, & Hayes, 1991). Variations in the amount of transfer would indicate variations in the relatedness of equivalent stimuli.…”

The Impact on Tobacco Use of Branded Youth Anti-tobacco Activities and Family Communications about Tobacco

“…Grey and Barnes (1996) found that attitudes to labeled (but unviewed) videos were affected by whether the labels were associated indirectly with a tape with religious content or one with sexual content. Barnes-Holmes et al (2000) found that college students' ratings of a soft drink's pleasantness depended upon whether the drink's label was associated with a nonsense syllable associated with either the word cancer or the word holidays. Although the drinks were the same in each condition, subjects preferred one labeled with the brand linked to the symbol associated with holidays.…”

Does Hearing About Cancer Influence Stimulus Control? An Exploratory Study of Verbal Modulation of Stimulus Generalization

“…As anticipated in patient-education efforts, words like Bcancer^tend to have pre-existing aversive associations (Barnes-Holmes, Maynooth, Barnes-Holmes, & Smeets, 2000;Mogg, Bradley, & Williams, 1995;Reinecke, Becker, Hoyer, & Rinck, 2010) that may support negative reinforcement. But aversive stimuli also generate emotional responses (Donovan, Jalleh, & Jones, 2003;Dunn, Patterson, Butow, Smartt, McCarthy, & Tattersall, 1993) that can create general behavioral disruption (e.g., Estes & Skinner, 1941).…”