Charlotte Mandell

Equivalence class formation as a function of the pronounceability of the sample stimulus

The role of naming in stimulus equivalence was studied by varying the pronounceability of sample stimulus pseudowords. Experiment 1 compared three conditions: in the first, sample stimuli consisted of phonologically correct pseudowords; in the second, sample stimuli consisted of phonologically incorrect words; in the last, sample stimuli consisted of punctuation marks. Subjects exposed to pronounceable stimuli demonstrated equivalence class formation more quickly and with fewer errors than did other subjects. In Experiment 2, subjects were trained in equivalence-class formation using only non-phonological sample stimuli. Half the subjects were exposed to a pretraining procedure in which they read a list of non-phonological pseudowords aloud. Remaining subjects transcribed the same list of pseudowords - a procedure which equated exposure to the pseudowords, but did not necessarily encourage subjects to name them. Subjects who were pretrained with the read-aloud task made significantly fewer errors than those who transcribed the words. These data are consistent with the theory that equivalence class formation is mediated by verbal behavior.

The Problem of Meaning Behavioral and Cognitive Perspectives

The many meanings of meaning (A. McCabe, C. Mandell). Historical and philosophical foundations of the problem of meaning (L.D. Smith). Stimulus equivalence and meaning: the influence of verbal behavior (C.C. Mandell). Metaphor, meaning and relational frame theory (S.C. Haynes, A.M. Grundt). A comparative perspective on the etiology of meaning and assaying behaviors for meaning (D.M. Rumbaugh, E. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh). Sign language acquisition and the development of meaning in a lowland gorilla (J.D. Bonvillian, F.G.P. Patterson). Input and the acquisition of vocabulary: examing the parental lexicon (J.B. Gleason, R. Ely). Making meaning in parent-child interaction: a pragmatic approach (A.L. Inbens-Bailey, C.E. Snow). Cultural constructions of meaning: cross-cultural comparisons of mother-child conversations about the past (M. Minami). Narrative threads of metaphor (A. McCabe). Attributing meaning to deliberately false utterances: the case of irony (S. Dews, E. Winner). The problem of meaning in generative grammar (M. Piatelli-Palmarini, C. Cecchetto).

Chapter 2 Stimulus equivalence and meaning: The influence of verbal behavior

Publisher Summary The chapter discusses the influence of verbal behavior. This chapter begins with a consideration of some of the complexities involved in understanding naming. The present analysis addresses only a very small part of the task. Names and their referents do not exist in isolation, but rather they are to be understood in more extended contexts: the context of a sentence, the context of narrative, the context of the verbal community, as well as the context of individual learning history, culture, and genetics. Stimulus equivalence may well turn out to be an important analytical tool in understanding these problems in all of their richness and variety. The chapter presents two experiments to illustrate concrete and abstract stimuli in stimulus equivalence. In this experiment, subjects are trained to perform 16 conditional discriminations intended to produce eight 3-member stimulus classes.

The partial reinforcement effect and behavioral momentum: Reconcilable?

This commentary considers factors that may account for the inconsistency between the behavioral momentum formulation and the partial reinforcement extinction effect. The method of testing, the variability of the schedule, the nature of the response-contingency, and response effort are considered. Some applications to real-world problems are also discussed.

Comparing positive and negative reinforcement: A fantasy experiment

We propose quantitative experimental approaches to the question of whether positive and negative reinforcement are functionally different, and discuss scientific and ethical concerns that would arise if these approaches were pursued.