Abstract
Stimulus overselectivity, previously described as restricted stimulus control, was examined in preschool children. Twenty-seven subjects, after being trained to respond to a two-component auditory stimulus (S+) and not to respond to a different two-component auditory stimulus (S−), were tested to determine which stimulus elements of the complexes exerted control. Subjects that met the operational definition of overselectivity were found to have exhibited a hierarchy of stimulus control. What differentiated the subjects who would not be labeled “overselective” from those who would be was the placement of S+ and S− elements within the hierarchy, not that one type of subject had restricted stimulus control and another did not. The results indicate that the current conception of stimulus overselectivity may require revision. Treatment and research implications are discussed.
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The major source of funding for this research came from the Kansas Research Institute for the Early Childhood Education of the Handicapped, USOE 300-77-0308. In addition, partial support for this research came from the University of Kansas General Research Allocation number 3942; the Kansas Center for Mental Retardation and Human Development, supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, HD 02528; and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1 T32 AD 07173-03) predoctoral traineeship awarded to the first author.
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Bickel, W.K., Stella, M.E. & Etzel, B.C. A reevaluation of stimulus overselectivity: Restricted stimulus control or stimulus control hierarchies. J Autism Dev Disord 14, 137–157 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02409657
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02409657