Predictions of two-stage learning theories were evaluated by measuring observing responses which produced the discriminative stimuli for .5 sec. (Editor)

Study supported by Mental Health Research Grant 605-5-373.

Research supported in part by Public Health Service grant NB-07346 from the National Institute of Mental Health.

BOTH COGNITIVELY-ORIENTED AND RESPONSE-ORIENTED THEORIES OF PERCEPTUAL LEARNING ARE DISCUSSED AND CONTRASTED WITH A STIMULUS-ORIENTED THEORY. PERCEPTUAL LEARNING IS DEFINED AS AN INCREASE IN SPECIFICITY OF DISCRIMINATION OF THE STIMULUS INPUT. THE AUTHOR DESCRIBED WHAT IS LEARNED IN PERCEPUTAL LEARNING AS () THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THINGS, (2)…

STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO ESTABLISH DISCRIMINATORY RESPONSES TO PAIRS OF STIMULI WITHOUT ERROR RESPONSES TO THE UNREINFORCED (S-) STIMULUS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF 2 METHODS OF INTRODUCING S- (FADING AND CONSTANT) AND 2 RESPONSE CONTINGENCIES (DELAY AND NO DELAY) ON THE OCCURRENCE OF S- RESPONSES.…

Eight experiments using as Ss either retarded children, normal children, or normal adults studied the relations of retardation and normal development to the perceptual process of identification. Two experiments were reported on the identification of stimuli varying in either one, two, or three dimensions. Retardates did not perform as well as…

Whether a stimulus compound is separable or integral has predictable consequences for several human information processing tasks. The purpose of these experiments was to explore the implications of this distinction for research in animal learning and the development of learning theory. (Author/RK)

Ten author-contributed papers present information on stimulus control research and developmental disabilities. Articles address such isues as the role of naming, development of stimulus classes, control by exclusion, and comparison of trial-and-error and graduated stimulus change procedures. (CL)

The present experiment was designed to specify more clearly the function of IARs in VD learning by varying the number of taxonomic categories used to make up the VD lists. (Author)

Fifteen autistic and 15 normal Ss were trained to respond to a card containing two visual cues. The children were further tested on the single cues in order to assess whether one or both stimuli had acquired control over their responding. (Editor/RK)

Study found that stimulus presence during a delay of reinforcement interval enhanced performance, and to a large extent prevented the usual delay-produced decrement. (Authors)