POSTDISCRIMINATION GENERALIZATION IN HUMAN SUBJECTS OF 2 DIFFERENT AGES

TRAINED 6 GROUPS OF 31/2-41/2 YR. OLDS AND ADULTS ON S+ = 90DEGREES (BLACK VERTICAL LINE ON WHITE, W, BACKGROUND) AND S- = W, 150DEGREES, OR 120DEGREES; OR S+ = 120DEGREES AND S- = W, 60DEGREES, OR 90DEGREES. ALL GROUPS WERE TESTED FOR LINE ORIENTATION GENERALIZATION: (1) GRADIENTS WERE EITHER FLAT, S+ ONLY, OR BIMODAL; DESCENDING GRADIENTS AND PEAK SHIFT EFFECTS WERE NOT OBTAINED; (2) GRADIENT FORMS WERE A COMPLEX FUNCTION OF AGE, TRAINING CONDITIONS, AND THE ORDER OF STIMULI PRESENTATION; (3) GROUP GRADIENTS WERE NOT THE SUM OF THE SAME TYPE INDIVIDUAL GRADIENTS; (4) SINGLE-STIMULUS AND PREFERENCE-TEST METHODS PRODUCED EQUIVALENT GRADIENT FORMS; AND (5) DISCRIMINATION DIFFICULTY WAS NOT INVERSELY RELATED TO S+, S- DISTANCE. RESULTS SUGGESTED THAT, FOR BOTH CHILDREN AND ADULTS, GENERALIZATION WAS MEDIATED BY CONCEPTUAL CATEGORIES; FOR CHILDREN MEDIATION WAS PRIMARILY DETERMINED BY THE TRAINING CONDITIONS WHILE ADULT MEDIATION WAS A FUNCTION OF BOTH TRAINING AND TEST ORDER CONDITIONS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1968 American Psychological Association.