Date of Award
8-2009
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Dr. Scott T. Gaynor
Second Advisor
Dr. Wayne Fuqua
Third Advisor
Dr. Linda LeBlanc
Fourth Advisor
Dr. James Carr
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Campus Only
Abstract
Stimulus equivalence is an empirical phenomenon which demonstrates a process of generative learning pertinent to language development and symbolic communication, whereby stimuli that share no physical properties come to be functionally similar (i.e., form an equivalence class). Individuals diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder (AD) display high rates of atypical language functioning and dysfunctional communication. Such abnormal development could be the result of differences in a fundamental learning process such as stimulus equivalence. In the current study, ten adolescents diagnosed with AD were compared to ten typically developing adolescents on a task of equivalence class formation. Results suggest that when conditional discriminations are taught to mastery, there are no significant differences between adolescents with AD and typically developing adolescents in the emergence of untrained relations. The conceptual impact of these results and approaches to future research are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Riley, Andrew R., "Equivalence Class Formation by Adolescents with Asperger's Disorder" (2009). Masters Theses. 262.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/262