Relational Responding to a Transposition of Relevant Verbalizations and Task as a Function Feedback

This study investigated, the effects of pretransposition verbalizations upon subsequent transposition behavior and. posttransposition verbalizations of first-grade chil­ dren. The investigator found, that children who correctly verbalized, relational aspects of the stimuli following a transposition task had more relational responses to the transposition task than children who did not correctly verbalize or failed, to verbalize at all. It was also found that pretransposition training on a discrimination task until the children verbalized the relational aspects of the stimuli did not necessarily facilitate subsequent relational responding to a transposition task or posttransposition verbalizations. The results also indicated, that a concrete and. nonverbal task of reconstructing cards representing training stimuli facilitated, subsequent relational respond.ing to the transposition task. Finally, it was found, that verbal feedback by the experimenter to the children indi­ cating that the children's pretransposition verbalizations of the relational aspects of the stimuli were correct did not facilitate subsequent transposition behavior. The results were discussed, in terms of the integration of verbal symbolic processes and overt nonverbal responses, perceptual mediation, and. the development of language. vi