| Abstract: In this translational study, three integrated experiments analyzed the impact of mixed-compound-consequences on equivalence-class formation. Experiment 1 compared simple-discrimination training with class-specific-compound-consequences (CSCC; A/B1→R1r1, A/B2→R2r2, A/B3→R3r3) and with mixed-compound-consequences (MCC; one class-specific element and one common across discriminations; A/B4→R0r4, A/B5→R0r5, A/B6→R0r6) with nine 6-8-year-old children. Conditional discrimination probes assessed emergent relations between A/B/R/r stimuli. When CSCC training occurred first, equivalence-class formation was demonstrated in both conditions. However, when MCC training occurred first, participants either demonstrated chance responding or emergent stimulus-reinforcer relations, without AB/BA relations. Equivalence classes were evidenced in the subsequent CSCC condition, but not always when the MCC condition was repeated. In Experiment 2, six college participants demonstrated class formation after either CSCC or MCC training. In Experiment 3, nine college students received CSCC or MCC training, but only emergent AB/BA relations were tested. Half of the participants trained first with MCCs demonstrated no emergence for any condition. These results demonstrate that a common element within a compound stimulus can hinder emergence, perhaps paralleling some instructive feedback applications. Findings also suggest that specific training and testing arrangements facilitate independent control by the separate elements of compound consequences, promoting class formation and extending both theoretical analyses and applications of equivalence. |