An experimental analysis of associative factors in mediated generalization.

Abstract

For more than two thousand years men have concerned themselves with the question of how ideas become associated or connected to one another. The concern here is primarily with the importance of the temporal order of associating independent elements with the common element and the direction of association between the independent elements and the common element in the verbal transfer situation. Several theories have been proposed which deal with the nature of mediated generalization, and though they differ somewhat as to the exact nature of the mediating process. From the standpoint of the subjects, this experiment appeared to involve a series of paired-associate learning problems. The subjects were required to learn two lists of words to a specified criterion, and were then tested on a third list for a fixed number of trials. Each list consisted of eight pairs of words, and the lists were constructed in such a way that the third list was composed of lour pairs which had a common associate in the first two lists and four pairs which had no such connection. The results of this investigation clearly establish the presence of generalization effects for all paradigms except one of the chaining models. In conclusion, this study has clearly established the presence of generalization effects with three chaining, two acquired stimulus equivalence, and two required response equivalence paradigms, and has strongly suggested the presence of several associative factors and indicated a need for further investigation of others. In addition, individual difference factors, such as task set and strategy, appear as important parameters in generalization and warrant further investigation.

Verbal mediation in reverse association: The role of temporal factors

“…The results indicated a significant reverse mediation effect, which clearly supports the findings of several investigators (e.g., Horton & Kjeldergaard, 1961;McCormack, 1961;and Jenkins, 1963). Essentially the C-A pairs, which have in common an association with a B-word, were learned faster during the test stage than the C-A pairs with no such connection.…”

“…Twenty-four low-frequency five-letter words selected from the Thorndike-Lorge list (1944) and scaled for association values by Horton & Kjeldergaard (1961) were assigned to four separate lists as shown in Table 1.…”

A method for studying the effects of mediated associations in the paired- associate learning of children

“…A number of studies have demonstrated the facilitating and interfering effects of implicit verbal mediators on the paired-associate learning of adults (e. g., Horton & Kjeldergaard, 1961;McGehee & Schulz, 1961). The results of the present study indicate that some of the same phenomena occur in the verbal paired-associate learning of children.…”

Pseudomediation: Is chaining an artifact?

“…This alternative interpretation is diametrically opposed to an argument based on associative mediation which states that the pre sen c e of the B association in Stage III facilitates acquisition. The general reasoning applies similarly to the other mediation paradigms discussed by Horton & Kjeldergaard (1961) and Jenkins (1963).…”