If you had learned to say “espadrille” as a result of hearing “a sandal with a canvas upper and a roped sole usually made in Spain,” you might have some tendency to say “espadrille” as a result of hearing about “a shoe with a cloth upper and leather sole usually made in Spain.” In this example, the irrelevant feature of “Made in Spain” exerts some control over the response.
An instance of verbal behavior with the following features:
The response form has already been acquired in one or more of the elementary verbal relationships
The stimulus must be novel
The novel stimulus must have none of the relevant features of the class of stimuli that previously controlled the response
The type of elementary verbal relationship
Formal and dynamic characteristics of both the stimulus and the response
Whether or not the current response is followed by reinforcement