Experiment 5

Overall then, a transformation of function in accordance with coordination and opposition relations appears to have important implications for the study of human likes and dislikes. However, RFT argues that entirely different patterns of responding may emerge when other types of derived relations are formed. Imagine, for example, that a person learns to respond appropriately to cues meaning ‘More than’ and ‘Less than’. Thereafter they learn that one stimulus (A) is smaller than a second stimulus (B) which is in turn smaller than a third stimulus (C). This set of directly trained ‘Less than’ relations (e.g., A < B, and B < C) may give rise to a number of novel, derived relations between those same stimuli. In other words, participants may respond to B as being more than A and C as more than B (mutual entailment) as well as A being as less than C and C more than A (combinatorial entailment) without any explicit training. If a respondent function is then established for the first stimulus in that relation (A) by directly pairing it with a shock, then the second (B) and third stimuli (C) may come to occasion different responses than the first. Stated more precisely, once a

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comparative relation between A, B and C is established, and A becomes a stimulus that predicts mild shock, B may elicit larger fear responses than A while C may elicit even greater levels of fear responding than either A or B (see Dougher et al., 2007 for related findings). Put simply, while psychological functions may be broadly similar for stimuli in a

coordination relation, or even reversed for those in an opposition relation, they typically vary in degree rather than kind within a comparative relation.

To date, discriminative (Dymond & Barnes, 1995), consequential (Whelan et al., 2006) and respondent (Dougher et al., 2007) functions have all been transformed through comparative relations in a number of different populations. It remains to be seen whether people will differentially like or dislike stimuli based on their location within a comparative relation. Moreover, the potential utility of self-report and indirect procedures has yet to be fully explored in this domain (although see Bar-Anan & Dahan, in press). With this in mind, Experiment 5 examined whether comparative relations would give rise to evaluative

responses that differ not in their direction but rather in their magnitude. Prior to the study, participants were informed that during the experiment they would encounter the names of several “prizes”. They were also informed that they could take one of these prizes home with them at the end of the task. Contextual cue training was then administered in order to

establish the relational functions of ‘More than’ for one symbol and ‘Less than’ for another. These cues were used to generate a single comparative relation comprised of five different non-sense words (Pardal < Zatte < Ettalas < Ciney < Witkap); the reason why we trained a five- rather than three-member relational network will be explained in the Method section. Thereafter, a consequential function was then established for Pardal and Zatte by making access to different quantities of money contingent on their selection. Specifically, a number of trials were presented that allowed participants to increase their overall winnings by picking one of two prizes; Pardal (worth 1 cent) or Zatte (worth 25 cents). Following training, a

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derivation test, direct and indirect measures of evaluation and a behavioural choice task were completed.

If a comparative relation is formed as predicted then two outcomes should be evident. First, self-reported ratings should vary according to a stimulus’ location within the derived relation, with Ciney evaluated far more positively than either Ettalas or Zatte, and Ettalas evaluated as less positive than Ciney but more so than Zatte. That is, participants should find stimuli that were never paired with money more appetitive than stimuli that reliably and consistently increased their overall prize winnings. Second, this experimentally established history of learning should also be evident when indirect procedures are used to target brief and immediate relational responding. To test this latter assumption, participants were randomly assigned to one of three IATs assessing either Zatte relative to Ettalas; Ettalas relative to Ciney or Ciney relative to Zatte. If the outcomes obtained on the IAT reflect a history of arbitrarily applicable relational responding as suggested, then participants should demonstrate a response bias favouring Ettalas over Zatte, Ciney over Ettalas and Ciney over Zatte in-line with the derived relations. We would also expect participants to consistently select Ciney when offered the opportunity to pick one of three prizes (Zatte, Ettalas or Ciney) in a behavioural choice task administered at the end of the study. In-line with our previous findings, we only expected this pattern of responding to emerge when participants derived the relation between the trained stimuli. Those that fail to do so should not only rate Zatte more positively than Ettalas or Ciney but also favour Zatte over Ettalas or Ciney on the IAT and behavioural choice task.

Finally, the derivation test used in Experiments 2-4 was modified in order to test for mutual (Ettalas > Zatte; Ciney > Ettalas) and combinatorially entailed relations (Ciney > Zatte; Zatte < Ciney) that had not been explicitly trained during the study.

116 5.2 Method Participants and Design

Eighty one undergraduates (51 female) ranging from 18 to 34 years (M = 20, SD = 2.8) participated in exchange for a small sum of money. A 3(IAT) x 2(Task order) design was employed with both variables manipulated between-participants. Data from fifteen

individuals who failed to achieve the mastery criteria during training were excluded from subsequent analyses.

Materials

Stimuli. Five of the non-sense words used in the previous study served as CSs (Pardal, Zatte, Ettalas, Ciney and Witkap) while different quantities of money served as USs (1 cent vs. 25 cents). The same arbitrary symbols (i.e., and ) were used as contextual cues. All of the CSs were pre-tested and selected on the basis of their neutral ratings and low variability of evaluations.

Indirect procedures. Across the three IATs two of the prize names (Zatte, Ettalas, or Ciney) served as one set of category labels and the words “Good” and “Bad” as another. Six positive and six negative adjectives served as one set of attribute stimuli (wonderful, best,

superb, excellent, amazing, great, pleasant, nice versus terrible, awful, worse, horrible, nasty, unpleasant, bad, rubbish) while two prize names served as a second set.

Procedure

Participants were informed that during the study they would encounter the names of several prizes, one of which they could take home with them at the end of the experiment. Thereafter, they were exposed to the following five phases; contextual cue training, relational training, a derivation test, (in)direct measures of evaluation and a behavioural choice task. Contextual Cue Training

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than’ for two arbitrary symbols was similar to that employed previously. On-screen instructions informed participants that the computer would present a series of trials containing two pictures at the top of the screen and two symbols at the bottom of the screen. Their goal was to determine the meaning of the two symbols at the bottom of the screen by using the corrective feedback provided by the computer. Participants were asked to take their time throughout the task and try to respond as accurately as possible. Thereafter the researcher left the room and training began.

Contextual cue training consisted of two different types of trials – those designed to establish the relational function of ‘More than’ for one symbol and ‘Less than’ for a second. In either case, two pictures were presented at the top of the screen and two symbols on the bottom (see Figure 5.1). To ensure that quantity - and not some other property - was the dimensional along which the stimuli were related, a red circle was used as a discriminative stimulus for cue selection. Specifically, when presented with (a) an image of a red circle containing many items and (b) an image with a smaller number of items not in a circle, selecting the ‘More than’ cue was reinforced (i.e., the written feedback “Correct” appeared on-screen for 1000ms). Thereafter, all stimuli would disappear, and following a brief inter- trial interval, the next trial would begin. If participants selected the incorrect (‘Less than’) symbol when presented with the above images corrective feedback appeared on-screen. In order to remove this feedback and continue with the task the correct response had to be emitted. An entirely opposite pattern of responding was required on trials designed to

establish the relational functions of ‘Less than’ for the second symbol. Specifically, selecting the ‘Less than’ cue was reinforced when the picture containing the smaller number of items was enclosed in a red circle and the picture containing the larger number of items was not surrounded by a circle. Although contextual cue training started by using stimuli that were formally related to one another (e.g., more ants versus less ants; more apples versus less

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apples) the task quickly abstracted this non-arbitrary relation to a purely arbitrary one by including stimuli that were not formally related to one another (e.g., more pentagons versus less dogs; more squares versus less ants). Note that stimulus presentations were

counterbalanced such that the same picture sometimes occasioned the selection of the ‘More than’ cue and at other times occasioned the selection of the ‘Less than’ cue. For instance, when presented with a picture of two ants and a red circle surrounding a large number of apples, selecting the ‘More than’ cue was reinforced. However, when presented with two ants and a red circle containing a single bicycle, selecting the ‘Less than’ cue was reinforced.

Figure 5.1. Four examples of the ‘More than’ and ‘Less than’ training trials. Each trial consisted of two pictures at the top of the screen and two contextual cues at the bottom of the screen. Selecting the contextual cue deemed correct on any given training trial resulted in “Correct” being presented in the middle of the screen while selecting the cue deemed incorrect caused “Incorrect” to appear (no feedback was presented during test trials).

Participants were exposed to a minimum of one and a maximum of three blocks of 50 training trials. Within each block the allocation of the two symbols to the lower left and right sides of the screen, as well as presentation of the ‘More than’ and ‘Less than’ trials was varied in a quasi-random order. Progression from training to testing required that participants

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respond with 100% accuracy across 20 successive trials, while progression from the test block to relational training required that they respond correctly on at least 20 out of 24 test trials. Failure to do so resulted in re-exposure to another set of training and testing blocks until these mastery criteria were met. Failure to attain criteria following a total of three training and testing blocks resulted in participants being thanked, debriefed and dismissed. Relational Training

A single comparative relation consisting of five fictitious “prizes” was generated using a similar protocol as before (Pardal < Zatte < Ettalas < Ciney < Witkap) (see Figure 5.2). Training consisted of four phases, each with a minimum of one and a maximum of three blocks of 50 trials. Participants were informed that during this section of the task they would be presented with the names of several prizes they could potentially win at the end of the experiment. On each trial, the names of two prizes would be presented on the upper left and right sides of the screen while the two symbols they had previously encountered would appear at the bottom of the screen. Their task was to determine the relationship between the two prizes using the corrective feedback provided by the computer.

Figure 5.2. Schematic representation of the comparative relation established in Experiment 5. Five fictitious brand products participated in the relation (Pardal-LessThan-Zatte-LessThan-

Ettalas-LessThan-Ciney-LessThan-Witkap). A consequential function was then established

for Pardal by pairing it with repeated access to €.01 and Zatte with €.25 per trial. During the first phase of training, three stimulus relations were established by differentially reinforcing the selection of one of the two contextual cues in the presence of a

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specific stimulus combination (Pardal < Zatte; Zatte > Pardal; Zatte < Ettalas). For example, when a red circle containing Pardal was presented with Zatte or a red circle containing Zatte was presented with Ettalas, selecting the ‘Less than” cue resulted in “Correct” appearing on- screen for 1000ms, followed by a brief inter-trial interval and the following trial. Emitting an incorrect response - such as selecting ‘More than’ in the presence of the above stimuli - caused error feedback to appear. Progression to the next trial was made contingent on selecting the correct (‘Less than’) cue. In contrast, when a red circle containing Zatte was presented together with Pardal, selecting the ‘More than’ cue was reinforced and the ‘Less than’ cue punished (see Figure 5.3). Finally, in addition to the above relations, and to ensure that the ‘More than’ and ‘Less than’ functions remained salient throughout the task, a number of contextual training trials were also interspersed within each block.

Figure 5.3. Examples of the four trials involved in the first phase of (comparative) relational training. Each trial displayed two prize names at the top of the screen and the two contextual cues at the bottom of the screen.

The second phase of training was identical to the first with the exception that three different relations were established (Ettalas < Ciney; Ciney < Witkap; Witkap > Ciney) while

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the third phase exposed participants to all six relations generated during the task. An evaluative function was then established for Pardal and Zatte by making access to different amounts of money contingent on their selection. On-screen instructions informed participants that in the next part of the study they could win a small sum of money. Specifically, two of the prizes they had just encountered would be presented on the lower left and right corners of the screen and they could add one of these prizes to their overall winnings by clicking on it with the mouse. Fifteen trials were then presented, each with a label at the top of the screen displaying the “number of opportunities remaining”, a second label underneath stating their overall prize winnings and the two prizes “Pardal” and “Zatte” at the bottom of the screen. Selecting Zatte on any given trial increased participants’ total winnings by 25 cents while choosing Pardal only added one cent to that amount. Given that participants were provided with an initial sum of 75 cents on the first training trial they could win a maximum of €4.50 by consistently choosing Zatte (or a minimum of one euro for consistently selecting Pardal) across each of the fifteen trials.

Test for Derived Relational Responding

To determine whether a comparative relation was formed as predicted (and the evaluative function established for Zatte was transformed through that relation to Ettalas and Ciney), participants were tested for mutual and combinatorial entailment. On each trial, two prizes were presented along with the ‘More than’ and ‘Less than’ cues and participants were asked to “click on the symbol that describes the relationship between the two prizes”.

Selecting a contextual cue removed all stimuli from the screen, onset a 500ms inter-trial interval and the next trial. Testing consisted of twelve trials, four of which presented Zatte and Ettalas together, another four presenting Ettalas and Ciney while the final four presented Zatte and Ciney together. Critically, at no time was feedback provided for any response emitted during this task.

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Responding in accordance with the predicted comparative relation required participants to select the ‘More than’ cue when Ciney was surrounded by a circle and

presented with either Ettalas or Zatte; choosing the ‘Less than’ cue when Zatte or Ettalas was surrounded by a circle and presented with Ciney or the ‘More than’ cue when Ettalas was surrounded by a circle and presented with Zatte. To ensure that the critical elements in the network were only trained in one direction, the “endpoint” pairs Pardal < Zatte or Witkap > Ciney were not tested since the selection of either Pardal or Witkap was always reinforced in both directions (e.g., participants were directly trained that Pardal < Zatte and Zatte > Pardal as well as Ciney < Witkap and Witkap > Ciney). A minimum of 10 out of 12 correct

responses was required to pass the test and those who did not meet this criterion were defined as having failed the test.

Indirect Procedure

Participants were randomly assigned to complete one of three different IATs in order to demonstrate that comparative relations give rise to a relativistic set of brief and immediate relational responses. On the first IAT evaluative responding towards Zatte was assessed relative to Ettalas; the second IAT examined Ciney relative to Ettalas while the third IAT targeted Ciney relative to Zatte. Across all three variants of the task two of the previously encountered prizes (Zatte, Ettalas or Ciney) functioned as one set of category labels and attribute stimuli. The words “Good” and “Bad” as well as six positive and negative adjectives served as a second set of category and attribute stimuli. If comparative relations were

established in-line with prior training then response latencies should be shorter during consistent relative to inconsistent IAT trials. For instance, on an IAT assessing Zatte relative to Ettalas, participants should be quicker in pairing Ettalas with positive stimuli than Zatte. However, when Ettalas is assessed relative to Ciney, participants should be quicker in pairing

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Ciney with positive stimuli than Ettalas (a similar response bias in relating Ciney with positive stimuli should also be evident on a Ciney-Zatte IAT).

Direct Procedures

A similar set of stimulus rating, contextual cue meaning and demand compliance tasks were employed as in previous studies.

Behavioural choice task. Following the various measures of evaluation, participants were presented with three small boxes that were identical in size, shape and colour. Each box was labelled with one of three prize names (Zatte, Ettalas or Ciney). Participants were offered the opportunity to select one of the prizes to add to their overall winnings as a final “thank you” for taking part in the experiment. After participants made their selection they were thanked, debriefed and dismissed.

5.3 Results Data Preparation

Contextual cue meaning. Of the current sample sixty three participants (95%) reported the relational functions of the two contextual cues in-line with experimental expectations. On the one hand, thirty three participants (53%) rated the ‘More than’ cue as meaning “more than”; sixteen participants (25%) rated it as meaning “greater than” while another fourteen (22%) used terms such as “larger than”, or “many”. On the other hand, forty five participants (71%) rated the ‘Less than’ cue as “less than”; while the remaining eighteen (29%) used terms such as “smaller than”, “fewer than” or “lower than”. Data for the two participants who reported incorrect relational functions were removed prior to analysis. Reanalyzing the data with these participants included did not change any of the statistical conclusions reported below.

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Demand compliance. Only one participant reported that they intentionally responded to the prizes in-line with the presumed expectations of the experimenter. Excluding these data did not impact any of the obtained effects outlined below.

Preliminary analyses. Counterbalancing the order of direct and indirect tasks as well as IAT test blocks produced no significant effects. As such, analyses were collapsed across these two method factors. Fourteen participants (22%) failed the derivation test while forty nine (78%) passed the test.

Self-Reported Ratings

Mean likeability scores for Zatte, Ettalas, and Ciney as a function of derivation test performance are presented in Figure 5.4. As can be seen in the graph, a relativistic and graded