Studies focusing on the formation of ordinal classes have reported a number of experimental findings on the comprehension of sequential stimulus relations. The aim of this investigation was to replicate previous findings in deaf children. A procedure was used to chain responses to three stimuli classes: A = printed number names, B = numbers presented in Brazilian Sign Language and C = abstract forms in different quantities. The values varied from 1 to 6. Each participant responded in the presence of green-colored stimuli, presented in a A1->A2->A3 ->A4->A5->A6 sequence; then to red-colored stimuli: in the A6->A5 ->A4->A3->A2 ->A1 sequence. After having responded correctly to each sequence, an animated figure appeared on the screen. After a revised baseline for each response sequence, tests of transitivity and connectivity were administered in order to evaluate the emergence of ordinal classes. The results showed that the participants responded quickly. In conclusion, it can be said that the procedure was efficient in facilitating the acquisition of numerical concepts, and showed the emergence of equivalent stimulus classes.
stimulus equivalence; ordinal classes; numerical relations; deaf children
