This investigation compares overt judgments about tenable hypotheses to choices in a concept identification task, as a function of stimulus similarity on successive trials. Two mathematical models are tested: (a) A 1-element local consistency version of Restle's concept identification model and (b) the same model with two additional passive states…

Two environmental learning conditions based on generative linguistics were tested to determine whether they could induce in children (in grades 1-3) the acquisition of the rules of metaphors and the subsequent generation of metaphors based on the acquired rules. The first modeling condition (MC-1) emphasized the verbal-interaction effect: the…

Trained preschoolers and adults on three sets of successive discriminations with stimuli labeled A, B, and R. Tested for derived stimulus-response relations and stimulus-stimulus relations. Adults displayed class-consistent B-R and A-B performances over all conditions. Children's display of class-consistent B-R performance varied by training…

Stimulus discrimination is a standard subject in undergraduate courses presenting basic principles of learning, and a particularly interesting aspect of discrimination is the peak shift phenomenon. Peak shift occurs in generalization tests following intradimensional discrimination training as a displacement of peak responding away from the S+ (a…

This study investigated the spontaneous use of verbal mediators in discrimination learning, the transfer of mediators to a free recall task, and the effects of a pretraining task on performance. The discrimination tasks required nursery school children (80) to: (1) sort three instances each of two different concepts in a conceptually consistent…

A basic unsolved problem in science is that of understanding learning, the process by which people and machines use their experience in a situation to guide future action in similar situations. The ideas of Piaget, Pavlov, Hull, and other learning theorists, as well as previous heuristic programing models of human intelligence, stimulated this…

While few would disagree that token economies are effective in bringing certain positive and negative target behaviors under contingent control, the recent past has witnessed increased concern over choice of targets as well as back-ups, voluntary versus involuntary client participation, as well as the effectiveness of such programs in meeting…

Consistent with Anderson's weighted averaging model, it was predicted that 19 subjects who were defined by a lack of differentiation among their personal constructs would experience considerable inconsistency in the factorial combination of five personality trait dimensions selected from each subject's REP test. Such inconsistency was expected to…

Cognitive effects in children's learning of altruistic behavior were tested with an adaptation of Aronfreed's test design and machine. Children in grades 1-4 were presented with a machine with 2 levers. One lever, when pressed, released bubble gum, and the other turned on a light. For two of the three groups the experimenter exclaimed delightedly…

One hundred twenty-eight preschool boys were subjects in a 4x2x2 factorial design to investigate the change in reinforcer efficacy as a function of prior stimulus exposure. The factors were: (1) amount of repetition, 5, 25, 45, or 65; (2) reinforcer, good or bell; and (3) satiator, good or bell. Two additional groups were run as control groups to…

The four experiments of this study represent the first stage on a program of research designed to clarify the nature and development of certain implicit verbal behavior and to move toward application of this knowledge to school learning situations and problems. Specifically, the experiments were created to investigate some aspect of the implicit…

Individualized education programs (IEPs) written for 18 severely disabled students (ages 4-19) who attended integrated school sites scored higher on selected indicators of best practices when compared with IEPs written for students attending segregated sites. IEPs were examined for age-appropriateness, functionality, and potential for…

This summary reports briefly on the progress of KEEP research on cognitive processes, specifically the covert verbal and visual activity of elementary school children. Preliminary research results regarding the infrequent use by children of covert verbal ability, or verbal mediational processes (unless prompted) are discussed. Informal…