Generalization of causal efficacy judgments after evaluative learning

Dack, Charlotte; McHugh, Louise; Reed, Phil

doi:10.3758/lb.37.4.336

Cited by 17 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…As for the evaluative function, studies by Barnes-Holmes et al (2000) aforementioned, Dack, Reed, and McHugh (2010;see also Dack, McHugh, &Reed, 2009), andSmyth, BarnesHolmes, andForsyth (2007) seem the closest evidence to the derived transfer of the EC effect. With their focus on examining the conditions under which molar versus molecular aspects of various schedules of reinforcement determine EC and its transfer, Dack et al (2010) showed that participants used nonsense words that had been previously established in an equivalence class with words good and useless to categorize two color circles in whose presence participants were provided with consequences under different schedules of reinforcement.…”

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confidence: 83%

Derived relations and generalized alteration of preferences

Jiménez

Dougher²,

Luciano

2012

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The present study examined the role of derived relations in the generalizability of the evaluative conditioning effect. Healthy university students participated. Four geometrical shapes were first established as discriminative stimuli for the contingent presentation of pictograms (B1, B2, C1, and C2, respectively). We then assessed the reinforcing properties of B1 versus B2, and C1 versus C2 by using simultaneous discrimination tasks: at baseline (baseline assessment), after pairing B1 with aversive slides plus noise and B2 with pleasant slides (test I), and after employing equivalence training and testing to establish B1 as equivalent to C1 and B2 as equivalent to C2 (test II). Most participants (82 %) in the experimental condition, as compared with the control conditions (17 % and 10 %), selected the discriminative shapes for B2 (test I) and C2 (test II) on most trials, replicating and extending previous findings. Subsequently, the geometrical shapes were established as equivalent to the letters X, Y, W, and Z, respectively, which then served as antecedent stimuli in simultaneous discrimination tasks as before (test III). As was expected, only participants in the experimental condition showed preference for the novel letters that were established as equivalent to B2-producing and C2-producing shapes. These findings suggest that the evaluative conditioning effect may extend far beyond the stimulus being de/valuated and narrow the behavioral repertoire.Keywords Transfer of functions . Derived generalization . Evaluative conditioning . Consequence devaluation . Key selection . Humans Just as the mythical Greek King Midas turned everything he touched into gold, an affectively relevant learning experience may alter a person's previous preferences in diverse life domains. The observed change in liking that is due to the pairing of stimuli has been regarded as an evaluative conditioning (EC) effect (De Houwer, 2007). EC is a form of Pavlovian conditioning in which a neutral stimulus is paired with an affective stimulus and, as a result, the valence of the neutral stimulus changes. The effects have been observed with a number of measures of liking based on Likert scale ratings and reaction time.Research on EC can be traced back to the early 1950s, but it was the seminal study by Staats and Staats (1957) that stimulated further research on the applications of EC in several domains (for an overview, see De Houwer, Thomas, & Baeyens, 2001). Staats and Staats showed that participants' responses to a semantic differential scale (pleasantness vs. unpleasantness) were significantly modified after secondorder classical conditioning in which nonsense syllables (CS2) were paired with socially established conditioned stimuli (CS1), such as pretty, healthy, stupid, disgusting (CS2 ➔ CS1). Nonsense syllables paired with positive words were evaluated as more pleasant than nonsense syllables paired with negative words. Subsequent research focused on the possible boundary conditions of EC. Within this line, Tryon and Cicero ...

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confidence: 83%

Derived relations and generalized alteration of preferences

Jiménez

Dougher²,

Luciano

2012

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“…Despite these findings (Dack et al, 2009), it is still not clear which aspects of the schedule contingencies are responsible for controlling the efficacy ratings or their subsequent transfer. Dack et al assumed that the transfer of stimulus function followed the ratings of causal efficacy that the schedule produced-an assumption strengthened by the fact that aspects of the contingencies, like the probability of an outcome given a response (Experiment 3), were controlled.…”

Section: Swansea University Swansea Walesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…are not easy to control, since schedules of reinforcement, by their nature, are free operant, and it is difficult to exert complete control over all factors simultaneously (see Jenkins, 1970, for a discussion). In spite of this difficulty, previous research (Dack et al, 2009) on this topic did employ such schedules of reinforcement, while controlling for rate of reinforcement (Experiment 2) and outcome probability (Experiment 3). However, all the schedules employed in this research produced different rates of response and had different response reinforcement rules.…”

Section: Swansea University Swansea Walesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If all of the emergent relations control responding, the group of stimuli can be said to function as an equivalence class (Sidman, Kirk, & Wilson-Morris, 1985) and the stimuli are fully substitutable for one another (Sidman, 1990(Sidman, , 1994. Dack et al (2009) investigated the manner in which various schedules of reinforcement are associated with…”

Section: Swansea University Swansea Walesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The aim of the present series of experiments was to extend the research of Dack et al (2009) by exploring the various factors that may be involved in determining the evaluative ratings of the stimuli associated with each schedule of reinforcement and the subsequent transfer of this evaluative conditioning to unrelated stimuli through derived equivalence ratings. This was investigated by employing a range of schedules and yoking procedures that allowed these factors to be varied.…”

Section: Swansea University Swansea Walesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multiple determinants of transfer of evaluative function after conditioning with free-operant schedules of reinforcement

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The present article discusses the concepts of having a goal and of goal-directed behavior from a behavior-analytic perspective. In clinical psychology as well as in the study of human behavior at large, goals delineate an important area of investigation when it comes to health, well-being, and behavioral change. While concepts like goals and goal-directed behavior may be more frequently used outside the theoretical boundaries of behavior analysis, we argue that by incorporating recent behavior analytic research on verbal behavior, new and fruitful ways open up for approaching the phenomenon of having a goal. A behavior-analytic approach thereby may increase both precision in understanding and the potential for influencing essential aspects of human behavior. This analysis starts with the concept of rule-governed behavior and develops that analysis by using the concept of derived relational responding.

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Generalization of causal efficacy judgments after evaluative learning

Cited by 17 publications

References 38 publications

Derived relations and generalized alteration of preferences

Derived relations and generalized alteration of preferences

Multiple determinants of transfer of evaluative function after conditioning with free-operant schedules of reinforcement

On Having a Goal: Goals as Representations or Behavior

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