Verbal discrimination reversal in a whole/part re-pairing transfer paradigm.

Whole/part transfer and re-pairing of rights and wrongs were employed in a study of verbal discrimination reversal learning. The whole/part and re-pairing procedures were used to create reversal conditions (0%, 50%, or 100% reversal) that were similar at the outset of reversal learning in that all correct alternatives on the reversal list were higher in situational frequency than their respective incorrect alternatives. Similarly, reversal lists were constructed that were similar in that all incorrect alternatives on the reversal list were higher in situational frequency than their respective correct alternatives. The results were consistent with the existing literature on verbal discrimination reversal, as performance was impaired when items reversed functions (50% and 100% reversal). There was little evidence that uniform frequency relations between rights and wrongs affected ease of reversal learning.