Using a Respondent-Type Matching-to-Sample Exclusion Training Procedure to Establish Equivalence Responding

An exclusion training procedure involves presenting a sample stimulus with an unrelated comparison stimulus that is presented alongside other comparison stimuli that previously have acquired a negative relation to the sample stimulus. Due to the already established negative comparisons, the participant selects the unrelated stimulus, establishing a relation between the two stimuli. Of the large body of research on exclusion, there has been no research conducted that has combined respondent conditioning with an exclusion training procedure. This study used a respondent-type matching-to-sample (ReTMTS) exclusion training procedure with probe trials to train 3, three-member equivalence classes. A–B relations were trained using the ReTMTS procedure, and A–C relations were trained via exclusion using the ReTMTS procedure. Of the 10 participants who reached the test phase, only 2 failed to reach the criterion required to demonstrate equivalence responding. These findings are discussed in the context of previous research on exclusion training