Many-to-One versus One-to-Many: Training Structures and the Emergence of Three 7-members Equivalence Classes

This experiment compared the outcomes of two training structures on the emergence of three 7-member equivalence classes. Participants were 34 typical adults; 17 were exposed to the One-to-Many (OTM) training structure and other 17 to the Many-to-one (MTO) training structure. After the training of baseline relations, a test assessed the emergence of symmetry and equivalence relations, and the maintenance of baseline. Fifteen out of 17 participants of both groups responded in accordance with equivalence. Participants of the OTM group presented significantly higher scores and slower response speed in baseline test trials than participants of the MTO group. Regardless of the training structure, participants who failed to respond in accordance with equivalence required significantly more training trials than those who succeeded.