The differential outcomes effect: A case of translational research

Abstract

Translational research represents an effort to integrate the results derived from basic research in order to approach them to the applied field. This paper sets out the area of research in regards to the Differential Outcomes Effect (DOE) as a case of translational research, characterized by its contribution to conditional discrimination learning. A revision starting from several germinal works with laboratory animals and that moves into the first studies with humans. Afterwards, some studies that highlight the potential of the application of the Differential Outcomes Procedures (DOP) are revised as a tool for the treatment of persons with several ailments related to learning and memory deficits, as well as their application to the educational field under situations that involve conditional discrimination learning.