Acquired equivalence and distinctiveness of cues.
In Experiments 1 and 2, rats received initial training in which two stimuli (A and N) were either followed by the same consequence (food) or by different consequences (food and no food). Subsequently N was paired with electric shock and the generalization of conditioned suppression to A was assessed. Suppression to A was more marked when A and N had both been followed by food than when they had had different outcomes. In Experiment 3, 3 stimuli (A, B, and N) were presented initially. For one group, A and N were paired with food and B was nonreinforced: for a second group, B was paired with food and A and N were nonreinforced. Generalization of suppression was found to be more substantial to A than to B for both groups. These results indicate that the extent to which stimuli are treated as being equivalent is partly determined by their reinforcement histories.
Honey
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Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, United Kingdom.
Hall
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D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D001245:Association Learning; D003463:Cues; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D004597:Electroshock; D005239:Fear; D005795:Generalization, Stimulus; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains