Protocol Analysis of the Correspondence of Verbal Behavior and Equivalence Class Formation

Abstract

In two equivalence experiments, a "think aloud" procedure modeled after Ericsson and Simon's (1980) protocol analysis was implemented to examine subjects' covert verbal responses during matching to sample. The purpose was to identify variables that might explain individual differences in equivalence class formation. The results from Experiment 1 suggested that subjects who formed equivalence classes described the relations among stimuli, whereas those not showing equivalence described sample and comparison stimuli as unitary compounds. Because Experiment 1 only demonstrated a correlation between describing stimulus compounds and the absence of equivalence classes, a second study was conducted. In Experiment 2, equivalence class formation was brought under experimental control through pretraining manipulations that facilitated responding either to stimulus compounds or to relations among stimuli. The results demonstrated that a history of describing stimulus compounds, when compared with describing the relations among the stimuli, interfered with the emergence of stimulus equivalence. These findings clarify individual differences in stimulus equivalence. They also demonstrate the utility of analyzing verbal reports to identify possible variables that can be manipulated experimentally.

Symmetry Versus Sequentiality Related to Prior Training, Sequential Dependency of Stimuli, and Verbal Labeling

“…Second, there is the difficulty of estimating correspondence between a retrospective verbal report and its controlling variables (e.g., Nisbett & Wilson, 1977), in particular when the discriminative stimuli are assumed to be private events (Skinner, 1945(Skinner, , 1957. To overcome these shortcomings in a similar attempt to derive categories of collateral verbal responses correlated with equivalence/nonequivalence, Wulfert et al (1991) instructed subjects to "think aloud" during the whole experiment. The subjects were also pretrained to describe aloud each step while solving simple problems in arithmetic before being exposed to MTS training.…”

“…Finally, the subjects' verbalizations during the whole experiment were audiotaped, transcribed in verbatim protocols, and categorized. As pOinted out by Wulfert et al (1991), this is an extremely laborious procedure, and it might initiate verbal responding that would not otherwise occur. The easily obtained self-report data from the present experiment may serve a similar function, as an aid to deriving potential classes of collateral responses correlating with different emergent relations.…”

“…Three other studies have shown how prior training influences likelihood of forming new equivalence classes. Wulfert, Dougher, and Greenway (1991) showed that prior training to attend to the relations among pictorial stimuli enhances the likelihood of subsequent equivalence class formation while prior training to attend to pictorial stimuli as elements of a compound inhibits the likelihood of forming new equivalence classes. Buffington, Fields, and Adams (1997), and Fields, Reeve, Rosen, Varelas, Adams, Belanich, and Hobbie (in press) showed that likelihood of forming new equivalence classes is a direct function of the size and the number of nodes in previously established equivalence classes.…”

O estudo do comportamento verbal no Brasil

“…Para alguns autores (Hall, 1998;Hall & Chase, 1991;Horne & Lowe, 1997;Wulfert, Dougher, & Greenway, 1991), a definição de linguagem ou de comportamento verbal deveria envolver o paradigma da equivalência de estímulos. No entanto, uma vez que a presente pesquisa visava a análise de estudos sobre comportamento verbal à luz do Behaviorismo Radical de Skinner, não foram incluídas palavras de busca relacionadas à equivalência de estímulos, pois Skinner não se referiu a esse conceito ao longo de sua vasta obra.…”

The Trouble with Babies and the Value of Bathwater: Complexities in the Use of Verbal Reports as Data

“…Recent commentaries (Austin & Delaney, 1998;Hayes, 1986;Hayes, White, & Bissett, 1998) and experiments (e.g., Wulfert, Dougher, & Greenway, 1991;Wulfert, Greenway, & Dougher, 1994) highlight a growing interest among behavior analysts in protocol analysis. As described in Ericsson and Simon's (1984) landmark book, protocol analysis is a set of strategies and tactics for research in which subjects verbalize thoughts, normally those taking place concurrently with a public performance.…”