Abstract
Successive-matching-to-sample (S-MTS) with a go/no-go response requirement has previously produced equivalence-classes with non-verbal auditory stimuli among college students. However no evidence exists showing that covert verbal-mediation (i.e., thinking) occurred during S-MTS tasks. The current study provides supporting evidence that go/no-go S-MTS is an effective alternative to traditional MTS while simultaneously assessing for covert problem-solving with a protocol analysis procedure following emergence testing. Subsequently, posttests assessed tacts to experimental stimuli and intraverbal-consistency within vocal-verbal statements of emergent relations. Eight college students participated in this study, data were collected using computer software programmed using Microsoft Visual Basic®, and a secondary experimenter observed via video recordings. Go/no-go S-MTS established arbitrary auditory equivalence-classes in six participants, the protocol analysis demonstrated correspondence among verbal and nonverbal responses, and correlational analyses suggest verbal mediation may have contributed to performance.