Mediated generalization of a motor response: All stages of the paradigm acquired in the laboratory

• Published in: Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 1967-01, Vol.6 (3), p.408-414
• Main Author: Koplin, James H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-5371; 0749-596X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0022-5371(67)80132-4

Several studies of the mediated generalization of a motor response in the threestage mediation paradigms have utilized a first stage inferred from word association norms. In order to extend the range of situations in which the mediation phenomenon had been studied, this series of five experiments explored the same phenomenon with a first stage acquired in the laboratory by the standard paired-associates (PA) procedure. Experiments I and II failed to produce the expected effects. The last three experiments explore some of the methodological problems that are present in this design and that may account for the Ss' performance in this task. The major factor in this interpretation was that all words appearing in the first stage paired-associates list are interassociated (members of a pool or set) at the end of the acquisition trials. This pool effect then depressed the experimental manipulations of the later stages.