A ”HAPPY HOUR” EFFECT IN TRANSLATIONAL ! STIMULUS RELATIONS RESEARCH

Abstract

This study examined the teaching of stimulus equivalence relations in college students and identified an unexpected “happy hour” effect: participants tested on Fridays showed markedly poorer performance, especially under the emergent relations condition. The findings suggest that extra-experimental factors, such as motivation or anticipation of the weekend, can systematically influence performance, highlighting the impact of contextual variables outside the laboratory.