Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
DOI
10.1002/bin.70090
Publication Title
Behavioral Interventions
Volume
41
Issue
2
Pages
e70090
Abstract
Hierarchical classification responding (HCR) describes a collection of responses that require discrimination of logical relationships between stimuli based on their position in a categorical hierarchy. This study established HCR for a new hierarchy in young children through discrete trial instruction. Participants selected pictures corresponding to different hierarchical levels of categorization. We tested for the emergence of naming that matched the level of hierarchy presented, transformation of function, and class inclusion responding for the trained and novel stimuli. Correct responding to the target hierarchy was established and resulted in the emergence of class naming and transformation of function without direct instruction. Class inclusion responding emerged without instruction for some participants. Class inclusion responding was established by direct instruction where needed. The potential utility of teaching HCR to enhance individuals' learning efficiency is discussed.
Rights
© 2026 The Authors.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Data Availability
Article states: "The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request."
Original Publication Citation
Noell, G. H., Gansle, K. A., Sliman, H. M., & De Lucia, D. M. (2026). Establishing hierarchical classification responding: Directly trained and emergent responses. Behavioral Interventions, 41(2), Article e70090. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.70090
ORCID
0000-0003-0147-2555 (Noell), 0000-0002-6940-0972 (Gansle), 0000-0002-0174-6619 (Sliman), 0000-0002-6792-211X (De Lucia)
Repository Citation
Noell, George H.; Gansle, Kristin A.; Sliman, Hannah M.; and De Lucia, Danielle M., "Establishing Hierarchical Classification Responding: Directly Trained and Emergent Responses" (2026). Psychology Faculty Publications. 252.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/psychology_fac_pubs/252
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