The Time Variable in Stimulus Generalization

Abstract

An experiment was performed to determine the effect of varying the time elapsing between learning and testing for stimulus generalization. The learning task made use of a modified verbal learning technique in which tones served as stimuli and spoken letters as responses. The stimuli used to test for generalization were tones and the generalization value of each test tone was indicated by the proportion of observed expected responses to total possible responses elicited by that tone. The results of the experiment suggested that change in the extent of stimulus generalization was a negatively accelerated decreasing function of the time elapsing between learning and testing for generalization. A curve was developed that expressed this change and the similarity between it and the typical curve of retention was noted. A relationship between retention as a function of time and change in the extent of stimulus generalization as a function of time, based upon an analysis in terms of stimulus differentiation, was proposed.