Summary: The Nature of Standard Control in Children’s Matching-to-Sample (Dixon & Dixon) (1)

Dixon, M. H., & Dixon, L. S. (1976). The nature of standard control in children's matching-to-sample. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 26(2), 243-252.

"Stimulus control" describes how a specific stimulus guides a person's actions. In these experiments, it means how the main item (standard stimulus) cues children on what item to pick in comparison.
"Standard control" is how the main item cues which item to pick and which to avoid, serving as a reference for the child to decide which items are alike or different.

The experiment trained preschoolers to choose one out of two comparison items that matched the main item (standard stimulus) in shape.
The researchers intermittently introduced a new stimulus figure in place of the previously correct comparison stimulus during test trials.
By observing the children's responses during these trials, researchers could infer how the kids were making choices based on the standard stimulus.
The procedure involved three rear projectors simultaneously lighting up three windows with the standard and two comparison stimuli. The stimuli were light figures of various shapes against a dark background, fitting within the 33-mm diameter windows with a little space on the sides.
The experiment also used capacitance sensing switches to detect when a human participant touched a response.

During the test trials, when a new stimulus figure replaced the previously correct comparison stimulus, five out of six subjects consistently picked the substituted stimulus.
These results indicate that the children used the main item (standard stimulus) as a guide to differentiate between similar and dissimilar stimuli.
During occasional equipment malfunctions where subjects were presented with the standard stimulus, the incorrect comparison stimulus, and a blank key, the children tended to respond to the blank key.
This behavior suggests that the children might be choosing to avoid an incorrect comparison stimulus associated with a specific standard.
The standard might simultaneously serve to instruct subjects about which comparison stimulus to choose (the SD rule as described by Berryman et al.) and which one not to choose (the S-delta rule).

Preschool-aged children can use a standard stimulus as a reference point for discerning similarity or dissimilarity among other stimuli.
This discovery has significant implications for professionals like educators and therapists working with children.
Understanding how children utilize reference points for decision-making could lead to the creation of more effective teaching strategies and interventions.
These insights could enhance the understanding of cognitive processes involved in children's decision-making.
The use of matching-to-sample procedures could be beneficial for evaluating cognitive abilities in young children.