Tactual equivalence class formation and tactual-to-visual cross-modal transfer

Five adults, two who were deaf-blind and three who were hearing-sighted but blindfolded for the experiment, learned the conditional discriminations AB and BC that consisted of complex tactual stimuli. Class-consistent respond ing to symmetry, transitivity, and equivalence probes demonstrated the emer gence of tactual equivalence classes by four of the subjects. These data co nfirm that visual or auditory stimuli are not needed for the induction of e quivalence classes. They also suggest that equivalence class procedures mig ht facilitate the formation of communicational skills by individuals who ar e deaf and blind. Following the formation of the tactual equivalence classe s by the two hearing-sighted adults, they immediately showed tactual-to-vis ual cross-modal generalization of equivalence relations. These results sugg est that prior equivalence class formation facilitate the reliable emergenc e of cross-modal transfer.