| Sumario: | Derived conditional discrimination was evaluated in 2 men with mental retardation whose language was limited to gestural requests. In each conditional-discrimination task, sample stimuli were arbitrary visual forms and comparison stimuli were black squares presented in 2 of the 4 corners of a computer screen. Subjects learned to select 1 position (P1) in the presence of 2 different samples (A1 and B1), and to select a different position (P2) in the presence of another 2 samples (A2 and B2). Next, new position responses (P3 and P4) were taught in the presence of A1 and A2, respectively. Tests then showed that the B1 and B2 sample stimuli controlled selection of P3 and P4, respectively. The data for 1 subject provided strong evidence for derived conditional responding, while the data for the other were suggestive. This is 1 of a very few studies of derived conditional discrimination in individuals without naming skills. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
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