Summary: Control of Adolescents’ Arbitrary Matching-to-Sample by Positive and Negative Stimulus Relations (Stromer & Osborne)

Stromer, R., & Osborne, J. G. (1982). Control of adolescents' arbitrary matching-to-sample by positive and negative stimulus relations. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 38(1), 17-31. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1982.38-17

Arbitrary matching-to-sample is a task where participants learn to match a main item to another item that's different but designated as a match. Unlike in identity matching where both items are identical. This task helps participants learn to understand abstract relationships between items, not just physical similarities.
"Positive stimulus relations" in this study refers to when a participant correctly matches similar items, like a red circle to another red circle.
"Negative stimulus relations" refers to when a participant correctly doesn't match dissimilar items, like a red circle and a blue square. This shows they've learned to match beyond just physical characteristics.
In this study, "conditional relations" means how a main item (sample stimulus) and a matching item (comparison stimulus) relate, as taught to the participant. Like if the main item is a red circle, then the matching item might be another red circle. The response of the participant (matching or not matching) depends on this relationship. The research found that people can learn more ways of linking items than just the taught conditional relations. This could impact how we plan training for those with developmental delays.

Four teenagers with developmental delays were instructed in a task that involved matching different but related stimuli (an A-B matching-to-sample task).
In test trials without reinforcement, correct matching took place when the B stimuli were presented as the main items and the A stimuli as the matching items, showing symmetry (B-A matching).
In test trials that involved either A-B or B-A matching, where known main items and right matching items were presented along with new matching items, the participants consistently selected the right matching items.
Positive and negative stimulus relations were used in the study to guide the participants' behavior in the arbitrary matching-to-sample task.
The findings of the study indicated that the participants were able to demonstrate control by using both positive and negative stimulus relations in both A-B and B-A matching tasks.

The study revealed that teenagers with developmental delays could learn to correctly match different but related items, using both positive and negative relations in A-B and B-A tasks.
The relations they learned were symmetrical, meaning that once they had mastered matching A-B, they could also correctly match in B-A scenarios.
The study indicates that humans can learn a variety of stimulus relations beyond those that are explicitly taught, demonstrating our capacity to understand more abstract relationships.

The study suggests that those with developmental delays can manage tasks involving matching unrelated items, showing control using both positive and negative stimulus relations.
For professionals like BCBAs dealing with clients struggling with matching tasks, training could be more effective using unrelated stimuli and including both kinds of stimulus relations.
Since the study indicates that humans can learn diverse stimulus relations beyond the explicitly taught ones, using a range of stimuli in training could be beneficial in helping clients apply their learning to new scenarios.