And és Ga cía Ga cía, Ál a o Viúdez González and Jaclyn Gayle Le kowi z
314
Nume ous s udies ha e add essed he cause behind he de i a ion
o beha io ha has no been explici ly ained (Vale o & Luciano,
1992). This phenomenon has been s udied on many occasions wi hin
he Expe imen al Analysis o Beha io , beginning wi h Sidman’s
disco e ies in 1971 (see Ga cía & Benjumea, 2001) and con inuing
wi h hose o o he au ho s wi hin he amewo k o equi alence
classes. Simple and condi ional disc imina ions a e undamen al
concep s o unde s and he logic o equi alence classes.
Simple disc imina ions consis o a disc imina ion con aining
h ee elemen s (disc imina i e s imulus, esponse and consequen
s imulus), he basic pilla o ope an condi ioning. Howe e ,
condi ional disc imina ions include a ou h elemen . In addi ion
o he disc imina i e s imulus, esponse, and consequence, a
condi ional s imulus is added, which changes he unc ion o he
disc imina i e s imulus o posi i e o nega i e. The condi ional
ela ions be ween s imuli a e s udied ia ma ching- o-sample
p ocedu es (Pé ez-González, 1994), which consis o choosing
be ween a ious compa ison s imuli (disc imina i e s imuli) in
esponse o a sample s imulus (condi ional s imulus). O he wo
compa ison s imuli ha a e ypically used in he p ocedu e, only
one is he co ec choice. In o he wo ds, he p incipal cha ac e is ic
o condi ional disc imina ions is he con ol he condi ional s imuli
ha e o e he ela ion be ween he disc imina i e s imulus, he
esponse, and he ein o ce (Pé ez, 2007).
Wo king wi h condi ional disc imina ions, Sidman (1971)
was he pionee in he expe imen al s udy o equi alence classes.
Sidman’s wo k was he beginning o a line o esea ch ha he
desc ibes and analyzes in his 1994 publica ion, and ga e way o
an eno mous quan i y o s udies (Ga cía & Benjumea, 2002, 2006;
Pé ez, Ga cía, & Gómez, 2011).
Equi alence classes e e o a se o s imuli ha a e
unc ionally equal o he indi idual, despi e ha ing comple ely
di e en physical p ope ies. The necessa y es s o de e mine
his ela ionship a e de i ed om he ma hema ical de i ni ion o
equi alence ela ions (Sidman & Tailby, 1982), which speci i es
h ee p ope ies: e l exi i y, symme y, and ansi i i y. The
display o hese ela ions is conside ed indica i e o equi alence
be ween s imuli. Thus, we ha e Class 1 made up o A1, B1 and C1,
Class 2 (A2, B2 and C2), Class 3 (A3, B3 and C3), e c.
ISSN 0214 - 9915 CODEN PSOTEG
Copy igh © 2014 Psico hema
www.psico hema.com
The in l uence o he pa en s’ educa ional le el and pa icipan s’ age
in he de i a ion o equi alence-equi alence
And és Ga cía Ga cía1, Ál a o Viúdez González1 and Jaclyn Gayle Le kowi z2
1 Uni e sidad de Se illa and 2 Co nell Uni e si y
Abs ac Resumen
Backg ound: The objec i e o his wo k was he s udy o analogical
easoning om he pe spec i e o he equi alence-equi alence
phenomenon. Me hod: The a iables s udied consis ed o he age o
he pa icipan s and he educa ional le el o he pa en s, in ela ion o
pe o mance on a easoning ask. The ask u ilized a sample size o 64
pa icipan s and an ins umen based on condi ional disc imina ions
using he ma ching- o-sample p ocedu e. Resul s: The esul s showed a
signi i can di e ence in he pe o mance on he ask be ween he child en
o pa en s wi h college deg ees, and hose o pa en s wi hou college
deg ees. Howe e , he e we e no conclusi e esul s as o age. Conclusions:
The esul s a e analyzed om he pe spec i e o he de i a ion o he
ela ionship o equi alence-equi alence ia mul iple exempla aining.
Keywo ds: equi alence-equi alence, analogical easoning, mul iple
exempla aining, child en.
In l uencia del ni el educa i o de los p ogeni o es y la edad en la
de i ación de equi alencia-equi alencia. An eceden es: el obje i o de
es e abajo ue el es udio del azonamien o analógico desde el enómeno
de equi alencia-equi alencia. Mé odo: las a iables es udiadas ue on la
edad de los pa icipan es y el ni el educa i o de los pad es, en elación a
la ejecución de la a ea de azonamien o. Pa a ello se u ilizó una mues a
de 64 pa icipan es. Se diseñó un ins umen o basado en disc iminaciones
condicionales u ilizando el p ocedimien o de igualación simbólica a la
mues a. Resul ados: los esul ados mos a on una di e encia signi i ca i a
en la ejecución de la a ea en e los niños con pad es uni e si a ios y los
niños con pad es no uni e si a ios. Sin emba go, en elación a la edad
no se ob u ie on esul ados concluyen es. Conclusiones: se analizan
es os esul ados desde la pe spec i a de la de i ación de la elación
de equi alencia-equi alencia a a és de en enamien o en múl iples
ejempla es como o igen de la de i ación del enómeno.
Palab as cla e: equi alencia-equi alencia, azonamien o analógico,
múl iples ejempla es, niños.
Psico hema 2014, Vol. 26, No. 3, 314-320
doi: 10.7334/psico hema2013.215
Recei ed: July 9, 2013 • Accep ed: Janua y 24, 2014
Co esponding au ho : And és Ga cía Ga cía
Facul ad de Psicología
Uni e sidad de Se illa
41018 Se illa (Spain)
e-mail: [email p o ec ed]
The in luence o he pa en s’ educa ional le el and pa icipan s’ age in he de i a ion o equi alence-equi alence
315
The equi alence-equi alence phenomenon ep esen s one s ep
close o a be e unde s anding o complex beha io (Ba nes-
Holmes, Hega y, & Smee s, 1997). Due o he na u e o he
es s assessing he equi alence-equi alence phenomenon, i s
measu emen equi es compound s imuli in bo h he sample and
compa ison s imuli. Speci i cally, he sample can be wo s imuli o
he same equi alence class o wo s imuli o dis inc classes. In he
i s case, he pa icipan s should choose he compa ison s imulus
composed o wo s imuli o he same equi alence class. In he
second case, hey should choose he compa ison s imulus made up
o wo s imuli o dis inc classes. The pa icipan s should choose
he pai o s imuli ha main ain he same ela ion wi h one ano he
as he pai o s imuli in he sample (belonging o no belonging
o he same equi alence class). The e o e, he equi alence-
equi alence phenomenon e e s o bo h ypes o ela ions:
hose o equi alence-equi alence and hose o nonequi alence-
nonequi alence (Ca pen ie , Smee s, & Ba nes-Holmes, 2003;
S ewa , Ba nes-Holmes, Roche, & Smee s, 2002).
I we ain ou equi alence classes consis ing o ou membe s
each, such as A1-B1-C1-D1, A2-B2-C2-D2, A3-B3-C3-D3
and A4-B4-C4-D4, he compound s imulus A1B1 main ains
an equi alence-equi alence ela ion wi h B2C2 because bo h
compounds con ain elemen s belonging o he same class. In he
same manne , he compound A2C3 main ains a nonequi alence-
nonequi alence ela ion wi h A3C4. Figu e 1 shows a diag am o
he equi alence-equi alence phenomenon u ilizing he o ma o
he ma ching- o-sample p ocedu e.
Di e en explica i e hypo heses ha e add essed why hese
ela ions be ween s imuli ha ha e no been ained in he
indi idual’s on ogenesis a e de i ed. One o he mos in l uen ial
ideas in his sense was p oposed by Hayes (1989) and Boelens
(1994), and is known as Exempla Theo y. These au ho s p oposed
ha du ing e bal de elopmen , human beings a e ained in a
la ge numbe o condi ional disc imina ions and hei symme ic
coun e pa s. The double aining as a lis ene and speake allows
one o lea n he disc imina i e con ol ela ion ha is es ablished
be ween he p onuncia ion o a wo d and he appea ance o an
objec , as well as ha which is es ablished be ween he p esen a ion
o an objec and he p onuncia ion o a wo d. Acco ding o he
au ho s, he de i a ion o symme y among humans can be
explained by assuming ha mul iple exempla aining occu ed
in an indi idual’s na u al his o y. Exempla aining, he e o e,
is based on aining bo h A1-B1 and B1-A1, A2-B2 and i s
symme ical coun e pa , and so on un il An-Bn and Bn-An. A
a ce ain poin , we can conduc a es aining Ax-Bx and es ing
Bx-Ax (Gómez, 2008).
When Boelens (1994) o mula ed he Exempla Theo y, he
also ex ended he idea o he es o he equi alence p ope ies
( e l exi i y, ansi i i y, and equi alence), p oposing ha
human beings in hei na u al en i onmen s gene alize a se ies
o p ope ies: gene alized iden i y, gene alized symme y,
gene alized ansi i i y, and gene alized equi alence. As a
esul , an indi idual’s beha io emains subjec o a p ope y o
he s imulus— he co ec ela ion be ween he sample and he
compa ison. The indi idual can espond using he gene alized
p ope y, such as he symme ical ela ion, when aced wi h new
s imuli (Luciano, Bece a, & Val e de, 2007).
In he p esen wo k, we app oached he equi alence-
equi alence phenomenon om his poin o iew (Ruiz &
Luciano, 2012), seeking o expe imen ally in es iga e he e ec
o mul iple exempla aining on he de i a ion o equi alence-
equi alence esponding. Addi ionally, we explo e he ele ance o
a iables ha could in l uence he de i a ion o his phenomenon:
he pa icipan s’ age and he educa ional le el o he amily.
Wi h e e ence o he a iable age, a s udy conduc ed by
Ca pen ie , Smee s, and Ba nes-Holmes (2002) and subsequen
eplica ions showed ha child en younge han 9 yea s old do no
show gene alized equi alence-equi alence ela ions. In e p e ing
hese esul s om he pe spec i e o he Exempla Theo y,
hese child en did no each he success c i e ion in he es s o
equi alence-equi alence because hey had no ecei ed su i cien
exempla aining. Addi ionally, hese s udies ound posi i e
esul s in child en olde han 9 yea s old, as well as in adul s (Pé ez,
Ga cía, Gómez, Bohó quez, & Gu ié ez, 2004). In ou s udy, we
chose o wo k wi h child en ages 8-9 and 14-15, conside ing ha
he o me is a c i ical pe iod o analogical easoning and he
la e co esponds o a pe iod in which p e ious esea ch indica es
posi i e esul s (Ga cía, Pé ez, Ma ín, Gu ié ez, Gómez, &
Pé ez, 2011).
Wi h espec o he second a iable, he educa ional le el
o he amilies, he e ha e been no s udies measu ing he
equi alence-equi alence phenomenon. Howe e , in e es in o he
psychological phenomena has been a ied. Palacios and González
(1998) ound impo an di e ences be ween amilies as o how
hei in e ac ions de e mine he ools in ol ed in he child’s
in ellec ual de elopmen . One o he mos signi i can di e ences
is ela ed o he pa en s’ educa ional le el, which, in u n, is ela ed
o he amily socioeconomic le el. Simila ly, A anz, Bellido,
Mazano, Ma ín and Olaba ie a (2004) indica e ha pa en s wi h
highe educa ional le els use e bal s a egies o in e ac ion mo e
equen ly. Among hem a e decon ex ualized s a egies, which
consis o helping he child o e oke e en s, people and si ua ions
beyond he cu en spa io- empo al con ex . Fo example, pa en s
wi h highe educa ional le els p oduce nonspeci i c ques ions and
sugges ions, which se e as iche and mo e s imula ing o ms o
ela ions. Such s a egies a e no necessa ily he mos elabo a e
and complex, bu a he he bes adjus ed o he child’s in e ac i e
si ua ion and le el.
This implies ha a amily wi h a highe educa ional le el helps
o p omo e he de elopmen o complex beha io . The e o e, i is
ele an o in es iga e he in l uence o he pa en s’ educa ional le el
on he genesis o phenomena ha a e pa o analogical easoning,
e e
R’s
B2 C2 A3 C4 B2 C2 A3 C4
A1 B1 A2 C3
R’s R’s R’s
Figu e 1. Diag am o he equi alence-equi alence phenomenon. The
s imuli A1 and B1 belong o he same equi alence class. The e o e, he
ein o ced choice is he s imuli pai B2C2, which main ains an equi alence
ela ion. The s imuli A2 and C3 belong o di e en equi alence classes.
The ein o ced choice in his occasion is he pai A3C4, which is o med
by s imuli belonging o di e en equi alence classes
And és Ga cía Ga cía, Ál a o Viúdez González and Jaclyn Gayle Le kowi z
316
such as equi alence-equi alence ela ions. Keeping in mind
p e ious disco e ies ound wi hin psychology, we hypo hesize ha
he e will be di e ences in equi alence-equi alence esponding
be ween child en o pa en s wi h college deg ees and child en
whose pa en s do no ha e such deg ees.
Consequen ly, in he p esen wo k, we will add ess wo
independen a iables: age, u ilizing he wo abo e-men ioned
condi ions, and pa en s’ educa ional le el, dis inguishing be ween
pa en s wi hou college deg ees and pa en s wi h college deg ees.
The dependen a iable will be pe o mance on he easoning
ask.
The e o e, he goals o his wo k a e o e i y whe he :
– The child en o pa en s wi h college deg ees (a leas one
o he pa en s has a comple ed college deg ee) will pe o m
be e on he easoning ask han he child en o pa en s
wi hou college deg ees.
– The child en o ages 14-15 yea s will pe o m be e on he
easoning ask han he child en o ages 8-9.
– The e will be an in e ac ion e ec be ween bo h a iables,
so ha olde child en o pa en s wi h college deg ees will
ob ain he bes esul s.
Me hod
Pa icipan s
The pa icipan s consis ed o 64 child en (be ween 8 and 15
yea s old) om dis inc a eas o Se ille. They we e assigned o
4 expe imen al g oups acco ding o he independen a iables:
16 child en who we e 8-9 yea s old and had pa en s wi h college
deg ees, 16 child en who we e 8-9 yea s old and had pa en s
wi hou college deg ees, 16 child en who we e 14-15 yea s old
and had pa en s wi h college deg ees and 16 child en who we e
14-15 yea s old and had pa en s wi hou college deg ees. Sex was
con olled in all g oups o a oid i s possible in l uence.
Ma e ials
In o de o e alua e equi alence-equi alence esponding,
we used an expe imen al p ocedu e o simul aneous symbolic
ma ching- o-sample. This p ocedu e consis s o p esen ing a
sample s imulus and wo compa ison s imuli a he same ime.
In o de o answe co ec ly in a ial, pa icipan s mus choose
he compa ison s imulus ha main ains a pa icula ela ion wi h
he sample s imulus. The ela ion can be equi alence-equi alence
o nonequi alence-nonequi alence. I pa icipan s selec ed he
co ec compa ison s imulus in a aining ial, hey would hea
he sound o applause. I hey made an inco ec selec ion, hey
would hea he sound o a ho n. The same ins umen s we e used
du ing he es phase, howe e , eedback abou pe o mance was
no o e ed h oughou he ials.
Bo h he sample and compa ison we e compound s imuli
con aining wo s imuli each (images o pho og aphs). The
elemen s wi hin he compound s imuli could main ain an
equi alence o nonequi alence ela ion. I he sample compound
s imulus con ained wo elemen s o he same equi alence class,
he child en should choose he compa ison s imulus con aining
wo elemen s ha also belonged o he same class. Howe e , i he
sample s imulus was composed o elemen s ha did no belong o
he same class, he compa ison s imulus con aining nonequi alen
elemen s was he co ec choice.
We wo ked wi h s imuli om na u al ca ego ies ha we e
mos likely o med p e iously in he e e yday expe ience o he
pa icipan s (wi hou p e- es ing), gi en hei ages. The ca ego ies
we e o ganized in en blocks ( om 1 o 10), wi h each block
con aining h ee ca ego ies. The assignmen o he ca ego ies o se s
and he o de o hei p esen a ion we e andomized (see Table 1).
Each block was made up o 20 ials, in which one hal
co esponded o equi alence-equi alence and he o he hal o
nonequi alence-nonequi alence. The o de in which he wo ypes
o ials we e p esen ed and he posi ion o he co ec compa ison
s imuli we e coun e balanced. The p opo ion o elemen s om
each class and he posi ion o he elemen s wi hin he s imuli we e
also con olled (see Table 2). We employed he same s uc u e o
all blocks.
P ocedu e
In o de o e alua e equi alence-equi alence esponding, we
designed a p ocedu e made up o wo ypes o ials- es ing and
aining. To pass each phase, he pa icipan s needed o answe
co ec ly in 80% o he equi alence-equi alence ials as well as in
hose o nonequi alence-nonequi alence (i.e., co ec ly answe ing
a minimum o eigh ou o en o each ype o ial).
In o de o i nish he expe imen , one o he ollowing cases
had o occu :
– The pa icipan does no pass he c i e ion in any o he 5
ainings wi hin a block.
– The pa icipan passes he c i e ion o any es .
– The pa icipan does no pass he es phase in he las block
o s imuli.
The es and aining phases we e p esen ed as ollows:
Tes Phase 1: We began e alua ing he objec i e
phenomenon o ou s udy u ilizing he i s block wi hou
o e ing eedback o he pa icipan s. The pa icipan
comple ed he s udy i he/she passed he abo e-men ioned
c i e ia. I he child demons a ed a lowe le el pe o mance
(< 80%), he aining phase began.
T aining Phase 1: The same se o s imuli as in he
p e ious phase was p esen ed o up o a maximum o i e
epe i ions ha now included eedback. I he pa icipan
did no pe o m co ec ly in any o he epe i ions, he
expe imen was comple ed. I he child demons a ed a
pe o mance abo e 80% in any o he p esen a ions, he/she
p oceeded o he nex phase.
Tes Phase 2: Implied comple ing a es phase wi h he
second block o ials. The c i e ia we e iden ical o hose
employed in he i s phase.
T aining Phase 2: Consis ed o comple ing he same
s eps as in he i s aining phase.
This logic con inued h oughou he expe imen un il he
pa icipan eached one o he abo e-men ioned condi ions.
The expe imen ook place in an au ho ized esea ch labo a o y,
wi h only wo expe imen e s and he pa icipan p esen . One o
he expe imen e s sa o he le o he child and eco ded he
The in luence o he pa en s’ educa ional le el and pa icipan s’ age in he de i a ion o equi alence-equi alence
317
answe s. This expe imen e e alua ed whe he he child passed
he es ablished c i e ion upon i nishing each o he sessions. The
o he in es iga o sa o he igh o he child, ga e eedback ela ed
o he answe (when necessa y) and an he subsequen ial. The
ins uc ions we e as ollows:
We in oduce ou sel es and ell he pa icipan :
– We designed a compu e game in which a couple o images
appea in he uppe pa o he sc een. You will ha e o look
a his pai and choose one o he wo pai s on he bo om,
he one ha you belie e goes wi h he one abo e. Only one
pai om below will be co ec , bu we will no ell you
i you a e winning. Do you ha e any ques ions? A e you
eady?
We hen con inue o es phase 1. I he pa icipan passes, we
ell him/he he ollowing:
– Thank you o you collabo a ion. You ha e been a g ea
help. We ha e i nished.
I he child does no pass he es phase we say:
– Now we a e going o con inue on o a simila ask. The
same images a e going o appea , bu now when you choose
Table 1
Ca ego ies and s imuli used in each block
Numbe o block S imulus A S imulus B S imulus C
Block 1 Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Appliances
Jungle gym
P o essions
Washing machine
Beam
Police
Mic owa e
Seesaw
Fi eman
Re ige a o
Slide
Bu che
Block 2 Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Boa d games
Numbe s
Vege ables
Pa cheesi
Fi e
Le uce
Chess
Eigh
Ca o
Dominoes
Th ee
Toma o
Block 3 Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Ca oons
Jewels
Vehicles
SpongeBob
Ea ings
Mo o cycle
Mickey
Necklace
Ca
The Simpsons
Ring
Bus
Block 4 Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Animals
D inks
Foo wea
Dog
Co ee
Rain Boo s
Ca
Coke
Sneake s
Ho se
Milk shake
High-Heels
Block 5 Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Clo hes
Ch is mas
Buildings
Pan s
Ch is mas T ee
Sky-sc ape
T-shi
Th ee wise men
House
Ski
San a Claus
Old building
Block 6 Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Fas Food
Plane s
Le e s
Hambu ge
Ea h
B
Ho dog
Sa u n
C
Pizza
Ma s
M
Block 7 Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Cu le y
Landscapes
Human body
Fo k
Moun ain
Hand
Spoon
Ca ibbean
Ea
Kni e
Dusk
Nose
Block 8 Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
F ui s
Spo s
Tools
Apple
Baske ball
Hamme
Banana
Socce goal
Sc ewd i e
O ange
Tennis acke
W ench
Block 9 Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Fu ni u e
Insec s
Red objec s
So a
Bu e l y
Flowe
A mchai
Fly
Umb ella
Chai
Wasp
Peppe
Block 10 Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Geome ic i gu es
School
People
Ci cle
Blackboa d
Baby
T iangle
Desk
Adul
Squa e
Chalk
Elde ly man
Table 2
Dis ibu ion o es s in each block
T ial
numbe
Type o
ial Sample Le compa ison
s imulus
Righ compa ison
s imulus
1 N-N B2A1 C1A2 B3C3
2 E-E A2B2 C3B3 B2B1
3 E-E B1C1 C3A1 B2C2
4 N-N B3C1 A1 B2 B2A2
5 N-N B1C2 A3B3 C3A1
6 E-E C2A2 A3C1 A1C1
7 E-E C1A1 B2B3 A2C2
8 N-N A1C2 C3A3 B3A2
9 N-N A1C3 C3B2 A2C2
10 E-E B3A3 B1C1 C2A1
11 N-N C1A2 B1C2 C3B3
12 E-E C3B3 A2A1 B2C2
13 E-E A3B3 C1B1 A1B2
14 E-E B2C2 C3A3 A3B1
15 N-N B1A3 B2C2 B3C2
16 N-N C3B2 A1B1 C2B1
17 E-E A2C2 A3C1 A1B1
18 E-E A3C3 C2A2 B2B1
19 N-N B1A1 A3C1 A3B3
20 N-N A1 C3 C2A2 A3B2
E-E: equi alence-equi alence ela ion. N-N: nonequi alence-nonequi alence ela ion.
The numbe s co espond o he equi alence class o which he s imulus belongs, while he
le e co esponds o he pa icula s imulus o he said class. The co ec op ion o each
es appea s in bold
And és Ga cía Ga cía, Ál a o Viúdez González and Jaclyn Gayle Le kowi z
318
one o he pai s, he compu e is going o emi a sound. I
he sound is applause, you chose co ec ly, bu i he sound
is a bullho n (we p esen he sound on he compu e ), you
chose inco ec ly.
I he pa icipan passes o he new block o s imuli ( he
ollowing es phases) we say:
– Ve y good, now we a e going o es wi h new images and,
like in he beginning, he e will be no sounds ha indica e
whe he you a e choosing co ec ly.
When he pa icipan comple es he expe imen in one o he
p e iously men ioned si ua ions, we say:
– Thank you o you collabo a ion. You ha e been a g ea
help. We ha e i nished.
As p e iously indica ed, he session began wi h es phase 1 and
con inued acco ding o he abo e sequence, wi h new ins uc ions
o e ed when necessa y.
Da a analysis
The da a was analyzed using he s a is ical p og am SPSS.19.
The analysis included an in e g oup compa ison using he
binomial es .
Resul s
O he pa icipan s, 62.5% passed a leas one equi alence-
equi alence es , whe eas he emaining 37.5% did no pass any.
In acco dance wi h he i s goal, we analyzed he ela ionship
be ween he pa en s’ educa ional le el and he pe o mance on he
easoning ask. O he child en o pa en s wi hou college deg ees,
37% passed one equi alence-equi alence es , whe eas in he case
o he child en o pa en s wi h college deg ees, he pe cen age
inc eased o 87%. U ilizing he binomial es , we ound a signi i can
di e ence in ask pe o mance be ween child en o pa en s wi h
college deg ees and child en o pa en s wi hou college deg ees (p
= .039). In he i s g oup (pa en s wi h college deg ees), he e was
a g ea e p opo ion o child en who passed he es .
Fo he second goal, we analyzed he ela ionship be ween he
a iable age and he pe o mance on he easoning ask. We ound
a endency ha poin s o olde child en pe o ming be e on he
ask (75 s. 50%), bu his endency was no signi i can (p = .302).
Wi h espec o he hi d goal, he e we e no signi i can esul s
as o he in e ac ion e ec be ween he pa en s’ educa ional le el
and he age o he pa icipan s on he easoning ask pe o mance.
The i s signi i cance index (Figu e 2) showed ha he e we e no
di e ences in pe o mance on he easoning ask be ween olde
and younge child en o pa en s wi h college deg ees (50 s. 25%,
p = .465). Simila ly, he second signi i cance index showed ha
he e we e no signi i can di e ences be ween olde and younge
child en o pa en s wi hou college deg ees (100 s. 75%, p =
.285).
Discussion
Rega ding he pa en s’ educa ional le el, we ound ha he
child en o pa en s wi h college deg ees pe o med be e on
he easoning ask han he child en o pa en s wi hou college
deg ees. This i nding emphasizes he impo ance o he educa ional
in e ac ion as a key ac o in he acquisi ion o complex beha io .
Based on his i nding, he in l uence o his elemen needs o
be u he explo ed. The a iable pa en al educa ional le el could
ha e p o ided mo e in o ma ion i we had e i ned i by in oducing
ele an c i e ia. Fo example, we conside ed he a iable o he
pa en s’ educa ional le el as a dicho omy: pa en s wi h college
deg ees and pa en s wi hou college deg ees. In u u e s udies, each
condi ion can be b oken down in o se e al ca ego ies. The e o e,
we could wo k wi h pa en s who ha e college deg ees in social o
echnical i elds. We could also di e en ia e he pa en s wi hou
college deg ees, sepa a ing hem acco ding o p ima y educa ion,
seconda y educa ion, oca ional aining, e c.
Because he socioeconomic le el has also p o en in l uen ial
in in ellec ual de elopmen , his a iable can also be ede i ned
by keeping he amilial socioeconomic le el in mind along wi h
he pa en s’ educa ional le el (B adley & Co wyn, 2002). This
associa ion is based on he ac ha economic and social esou ces
inc ease he possibili y o ob aining he educa ional and o ma i e
esou ces ha p oduce g ea e s imula ion. This s imula ion
acili a es he child’s in ellec ual de elopmen , and consequen ly
leads o be e pe o mance on easoning asks.
Pa en s’ in ol emen in he in e ac ion wi h hei child en
could be ano he in e es ing a iable. The wo k o Razza, Ma in
and B ooks-Gunn (2010) con i ms ha he p esence o wo highly
in ol ed pa en s is associa ed wi h a mo e ad anced psychological
le el han when only one o nei he o he pa en s is in ol ed.
Whe eas his s udy deal wi h oddle s, i could be po en ially
signi i can o he age g oups wi h which we wo ked.
Simila ly, i would be in e es ing o s udy he impo ance o
o he educa ional sou ces (school, classma es, g andpa en s, e c.).
Ul ima ely, i would be bene i cial o choose a mo e complex
and speci i c a iable ha be e delimi s he s imula ion ha
pa en s and child en can con ibu e.
Al hough we did no i nd di e ences in pe o mance on he
easoning ask be ween he child en ages 8-9 and hose ages 14-
15, he e was a endency. As indica ed in he wo ks o Ca pen ie
e al. (2002, 2003), an indi idual’s on ogene ic expe iences, a he
han age, a e he mos ele an a iable o he de elopmen o
equi alence-equi alence esponding.
100
80
60
40
20
0
8-9 14-15
Age
% subjec s
Pa en s wi hou college deg ees
Pa en s wi h college deg ees
Figu e 2. Pe cen age o pa icipan s ha eached he c i e ion in he
equi alence-equi alence es s based on he educa ional le el o he
pa en s

The in luence o he pa en s’ educa ional le el and pa icipan s’ age in he de i a ion o equi alence-equi alence
319
One line o wo k ha is ele an o he s udy o equi alence-
equi alence is he s udy o esponse c i e ia ha can en e in o
compe i ion wi h ela ional c i e ia. The e mey be compe i ion
be ween equi alence-equi alence c i e ion and c i e ia o o he
p ocedu es esembling simila i y o equi alence (c i e ia bo h in
he same o di e en compa isons, p esen ed simul aneously o
sequen ially). This compe i ion can occu wi h na u al as well as
wi h a bi a y ca ego ies (Ga cía, Gu ié ez, Bohó quez, Gómez,
& Pé ez, 2002; Ga cía, Bohó quez, Gómez, Gu ié ez, & Pé ez,
2001; Ga cía, Gómez, Pé ez, Bohó quez, & Gu ié ez, 2003;
Bohó quez, Ga cía, Gu ié ez, Gómez, & Pé ez, 2002; Ga cía,
Bohó quez, Pé ez, Gu ié ez, & Gómez, 2008). These s udies
examining compe i ion we e conduc ed wi h indi iduals (adul s)
who had al eady acqui ed he ela ional esponse e alua ed by
analogical easoning asks. The e o e, i would be o special
in e es o see how hese dis ac o elemen s a ec child en while
hey a e acqui ing his abili y.
This s udy canno cla i y he in l uence o mul iple exempla
aining on he de i a ion o equi alence-equi alence esponding.
In ou s udy, we had wo ypes o pa icipan s: hose who al eady
u ilized analogical easoning due o aining in a su i cien numbe
o exempla s in hei sociocul u al en i onmen , and hose who did
no . Because he numbe o ainings was limi ed (5 maximum),
i was no su i cien ly ex ensi e o acili a e he de i a ion o
equi alence-equi alence in he indi iduals who did no ye
u ilize analogical easoning. Howe e , he design did e eal he
compe ence o he pa icipan s who had al eady acqui ed his ype
o easoning. In jus a ew es s (4 maximum), hese pa icipan s
we e able o pass he disc imina ion.
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