Date of Graduation
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
Committee Chair
Philip N. Chase
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of strategic and tactical instructions on emergent stimulus relations. Sixteen female college students completed a linear-series baseline training with three potential equivalence classes of five members each. After successfully completing baseline training, participants completed repeated blocks of testing with probes for all possible emerging relations. Six participants performed below 70% correct on these probes. Three of these participants received subsequent training with a strategic instruction, whereas the remaining three participants were trained with tactical instructions. Afterwards, these six participants resumed repeated testing. Performance of participants who received the strategic instruction improved significantly, with correct responding during probes being on par with baseline performance. Participants who received the tactical instructions showed no significant improvement on probe performance, as compared to results from previous blocks of testing. Probes for emergent relations were conceptualized as problems, with equivalence relations requiring solutions that involve blending of previously acquired repertoires.
Recommended Citation
Lobo, Harold E., "The instructional control of problem solving: Emergent relations and blending of repertoires." (2005). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD). 10891.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/10891