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A derived transformation of valence functions across two 8 - member comparative relational networks

Amd, Micah and Roche, Bryan (2015) A derived transformation of valence functions across two 8 - member comparative relational networks. The Psychological Record, 65 (3). pp. 523-540. ISSN 0033-2933

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Abstract

The emergence of transitive relations between stimuli that had never been directly paired with one another can be examined through a phenomenon called Transitive Inference (TI). The present experiment explored contextually controlled TI effects in verbally able humans. Specifically, participants were trained in the conditional discriminations A1+B1-, B1+C1-, C1+D1-, D1+E1-, E1+F1-, F1+G1- and G1+H1- in the presence of a cue (Cue 1), followed by tests for mutual and combinatorial entailment in the presence of either Cue 1 or Cue 2. Note that Cue 1 and Cue 2 had been previously established as functionally equivalent to happier-than and
unhappier-than contexts, respectively. Using a performance-based measure of implicit preferences, we predicted that successfully demonstrating entailment would yield a performance indicating C1 as more positively valenced than F1. Similarly, if participants learned the discriminations A2+B2-, B2+C2-, C2+D2-, D2+E2-, E2+F2-, F2+G2-, G2+H2- in the presence of Cue 2 only, followed by tests for entailment in the presence of both Cues 1 and 2, we predicted that C2 should be responded to as more negatively valenced than F2. Performances across both conditions supported these predictions, furthering the evidence for the claim that emotional valences can be derived through functionally transitive stimulus-stimulus relations.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Faculty of Arts, Law and Education (FALE) > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User: Micah Ahmad
Date Deposited: 12 Jul 2019 01:38
Last Modified: 12 Jul 2019 01:38
URI: https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/11653

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