The transfer of Cfunc contextual control through equivalence relations

Abstract

Derived relational responding is affected by contextual stimuli (Cfunc) that select specific stimulus functions. The present study investigated the transfer of Cfunc contextual control through equivalence relations by evaluating both (a) the maintenance of Cfunc contextual control after the expansion of a relational network, and (b) the establishment of novel contextual stimuli by the transfer of Cfunc contextual control through equivalence relations. Initially, equivalence relations were established and contingencies were arranged so that colors functioned as Cfunc stimuli controlling participants' key-pressing responses in the presence of any stimulus from a three-member equivalence network. To investigate the first research question, the three-member equivalence relations were expanded to five members and the novel members were presented with the Cfunc stimuli in the key-pressing task. To address the second goal of this study, the colors (Cfunc) were established as equivalent to certain line patterns. The transfer of contextual cue function (Cfunc) was tested replacing the colored backgrounds with line patterns in the key-pressing task. Results suggest that the Cfunc contextual control was transferred to novel stimuli that were added to the relational network. In addition, the line patterns indirectly acquired the contextual cue function (Cfunc) initially established for the colored backgrounds. The conceptual and applied implications of Cfunc contextual control are discussed.

The transfer of Crel contextual control (same, opposite, less than, more than) through equivalence relations

“…Experiment 1 investigated transfer of “C rel ” contextual control for sameness and opposition through equivalence relations, extending previous findings by McLoughlin and Stewart (), and Perez, Fidalgo et al (). Phase 1 successfully established the contextual cues SAME and OPPOSITE based on nonarbitrary relational properties.…”

“…In accordance with the examples above, Relational Frame Theory (RFT) suggests that contextual stimuli may be classified into two categories: (a) “C func ” denotes the contextual stimuli that select specific stimulus functions on a particular occasion (see Hayes, Fox et al, , p. 33); (b) “C rel ” denotes the “context in which a history of a particular kind of relational responding is brought to bear on the current situation” (Hayes, Fox et al, , p. 30). Concerning the first type of contextual function, Perez, Fidalgo, Kovac and Nico () investigated the C func contextual control with adult participants (see Barnes, Browne, Smeets, & Roche, , for a similar study with children). Initially, five‐member equivalence classes were established: A1‐B1‐C1‐D1‐E1 and A2‐B2‐C2‐D2‐E2.…”

“…As many researchers have argued, a behavioral account of language complexity needs to consider contextual control as a key feature in further experimental investigations (Bush, Sidman, & de Rose, ; Dougher, Perkins, Greenway, Koons, & Chiasson, ; Hayes, Kohlenberg, & Hayes, ; McLoughlin & Stewart, ; Pérez‐González & Serna, ; Perkins, Dougher, & Greenway, ). Perez, Fidalgo et al () suggested that such an account should also include the notion that stimuli that acquire contextual‐cue functions to regulate relational responses may share these functions with other arbitrarily related stimuli. Perez, Fidalgo et al showed how different stimulus functions may be under contextual control and how novel stimuli may indirectly acquire C func contextual functions via equivalence relations (see also Stewart, Barret et al, ).…”

Explicações Comportamentais Da Correspondência Dizer-Fazer

“…Ou seja, quando os estímulos verbais (dizer) tornam-se membros da mesma classe de estímulos que ocasionam o comportamento não-verbal (fazer), tais estímulos verbais passam a adquirir as mesmas funções que foram estabelecidas para os demais membros da classe de estímulos equivalentes da qual fazem parte (e.g., Bortoloti & de Rose, 2009;Hayes, Kohlenberg, & Hayes, 1991;Kohlenberg, Hayes, & Hayes, 1991;Perez, Fidalgo, Kovac, & Nico, 2015). Assim, ao se tornar equivalente aos estímulos que ocasionavam o fazer, o dizer, nesse caso o estímulo verbal, passa também a ocasionar a emissão do comportamento não-verbal, permitindo a correspondência.…”

Transformação do significado de palavras sem sentido via relações arbitrárias de comparação com faces alegres

“…Estudos demonstram, ainda, que uma vez que estímulos fazem parte da mesma classe de equivalência, certas funções comportamentais de um estímulo da classe (aversiva, reforçadora, eliciadora) podem ser estendidas para os demais membros da mesma classe (de Rose, McIlvane, Dube, Galpin & Stoddard, 1988;Dougher, Augustson, Markham, Greenway & Wulfert, 1994;Perez, Fidalgo, Kovac & Nico, 2015;Perez, Tomanari & Vaidya, 2015), caracterizando um processo denominado transferência de função.…”