scholarly journals Sign-reference equivalence research methods in humans and animals

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 91-105
Author(s):  
M.V. Samuleeva ◽  
A.A. Smirnova ◽  
Z.A. Zorina
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Stimulus Equivalence ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Matching To Sample ◽  
Equivalence Relations ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Crucial Property

Human language based on symbolization or sign-referent equivalence relations. The paper focuses on methods of studying the process of developing of sign-referent equivalence. Subject is trained in Matching-To-Sample task: for example, reinforcing of stimulus B if the sample was A, and stimulus D if the sample was C. Following test allows to reveal if new relations (for example, symmetry, if subject chooses stimulus A if the sample was B) appeared spontaneously. Human subjects usually pass this test successfully. This result may be explained by repeated demonstration of sign-referent symmetry during language learning and using. Our paper is dedicated to methods features which can be used to study sign-reference developing in human and animals. We discuss factors that leads to appearance of this crucial property of stimulus equivalence.

scholarly journals Equivalence Projective Simulation as a Framework for Modeling Formation of Stimulus Equivalence Classes

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 912-968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asieh Abolpour Mofrad ◽  
Anis Yazidi ◽  
Hugo L. Hammer ◽  
Erik Arntzen
Keyword(s):  
Stimulus Equivalence ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Network Models ◽  
Equivalence Classes ◽  
Equivalence Relations ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Neural Network Models ◽  
Equivalence Theory ◽  
Hypothetical Experiment ◽  
Theory Research

Stimulus equivalence (SE) and projective simulation (PS) study complex behavior, the former in human subjects and the latter in artificial agents. We apply the PS learning framework for modeling the formation of equivalence classes. For this purpose, we first modify the PS model to accommodate imitating the emergence of equivalence relations. Later, we formulate the SE formation through the matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure. The proposed version of PS model, called the equivalence projective simulation (EPS) model, is able to act within a varying action set and derive new relations without receiving feedback from the environment. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that the field of equivalence theory in behavior analysis has been linked to an artificial agent in a machine learning context. This model has many advantages over existing neural network models. Briefly, our EPS model is not a black box model, but rather a model with the capability of easy interpretation and flexibility for further modifications. To validate the model, some experimental results performed by prominent behavior analysts are simulated. The results confirm that the EPS model is able to reliably simulate and replicate the same behavior as real experiments in various settings, including formation of equivalence relations in typical participants, nonformation of equivalence relations in language-disabled children, and nodal effect in a linear series with nodal distance five. Moreover, through a hypothetical experiment, we discuss the possibility of applying EPS in further equivalence theory research.

Learning Languages Abroad

2018 ◽  
pp. 23-43
Author(s):  
Alex Pinar
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Life Stories ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Narrative Research ◽  
Japanese Student ◽  
Oral Expression

This chapter presents research on language learning abroad and its influence on the development of oral expression. By using biographical-narrative research methods, specifically linguistic life stories, this work examines the experiences and beliefs of a Japanese student of Spanish who has studied this language in Spain on several occasions. This study attempts to determine how study abroad has influenced his language training and the development of his communicative competence, in particular oral expression. At the same time, it describes how the length of each stay abroad has helped or hindered the language learning process, the interaction with native speakers, and the practice of speaking skills.

Contextual Dependencies in a Stimulus Equivalence Paradigm

2002 ◽  
Vol 55 (2b) ◽  
pp. 97-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Dibbets ◽  
J.H.R. Maes ◽  
J.M.H. Vossen
Keyword(s):  
Stimulus Equivalence ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Positive Function ◽  
Training Procedure ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Context Change ◽  
Stimulus Set ◽  
Equivalence Trials ◽  
Contextual Stimuli

Two experiments with human subjects assessed contextual dependencies in a stimulus equivalence paradigm. Subjects learned to form two sets of stimuli in a matching-to-sample training procedure. Each set was presented against one of two different background colours, the contextual cues. At test, the influence of a context change—that is, presenting each set against the other context—was measured on baseline, symmetry, and equivalence trials. These three trial types reflect a difference in task complexity. It was predicted that the magnitude of context-dependent effects would be a positive function of task complexity. In Experiment 1, the context change was realized by switching the stimulus set at test while keeping the background colour constant. In Experiment 2, the stimulus set remained constant, and the background colour was switched. In both experiments, a change in context only resulted in an increase in response latency on equivalence trials; no effect was seen on symmetry and baseline trials. Results were discussed in the framework of switch costs, habituation to contextual stimuli, and a model based on Shea and Wright (1995) that explains the differential influence of a context switch on easy versus difficult tasks.

scholarly journals Exploring Research Methods in Language Learning-teaching Studies

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Vahid Nimehchisalem
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Informed Decisions ◽  
Teaching Research ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
The Common

Research methods offer authentic ways to elicit useful data based on which informed decisions can be made. With respect to their design and data collection or analysis, research methods are traditionally divided into qualitative and quantitative types, each with its strengths and weaknesses. In response to new theories and technological developments, new methods have evolved as extensions of qualitative or quantitative methods or as combinations of the two with promising features. This article presents an overview of the common methods used in language learning-teaching research.

The evergreen story of Psammetichus’ inquiry into the origin of language

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-62
Author(s):  
Margaret Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Paradoxical Effect ◽  
Human Language ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Past ◽  
Origin Of Language ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Century Literature

Summary Herodotus recounts the attempt of the pharaoh Psammetichus I to determine which among the peoples of the earth was the oldest. He isolated two children at birth, assuming that their spontaneous speech would reveal the identity of a primordial human language. Although Psammetichus’ inquiry was not explicitly designed to address linguistic issues, it has long been passed down in western reflection on language. This article reviews some of the most significant roles that the story of Psammetichus has played. The story was abundantly cited in 16th-century literature that conceptualized a first human language. It has also contributed to debate about the origin of language, especially during the mid–19th century. Moreover, the story of Psammetichus’ inquiry has been retold in discussion of language acquisition as has taken place since the 1970s. In this context, it is represented as the “ultimate language-learning experiment” (Gleitman & Newport 1995), which constitutes “an incisive bit of scientific prescience” (Rymer 1993). Enlarging on the third, most recent, context for re-telling the story, this article shows how some scholars assimilate it into modern linguistic research, while conceding that it is flawed on ethical grounds. In doing so, they often seem to make the past both inappropriately familiar (therefore less threatening), and inappropriately strange (therefore less valuable). As a result, contemporary citations of this anecdote from the distant past have the paradoxical effect of contributing to fashionable ahistoricity.

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