Acquired equivalence between cues trained with a common antecedent.
In Experiment 1, rats experienced 2 stimuli (A and N) each preceded by the same event (food) or by different events (food preceded 1 but not the other). N was then paired with shock, and the generalization of conditioned suppression to A was assessed. Generalization was more marked when A and N had been experienced along with a common antecedent. In Experiment 2, 3 stimuli (A, B, and N) were presented in initial training. For 1 group, A and N were preceded by food and B was not; for a 2nd group A alone was preceded by food. In each group, suppression generalized more readily from N to the stimulus that had received the same initial training as had been given to N. Experiment 3 found that generalization was not enhanced between stimuli when 1 had preceded food in initial training and 1 had followed it. These results demonstrate that stimuli that have shared a common antecedent will come to be treated as equivalent.
Hall
G
G
Department of Psychology, University of York, England.
Ray
E
E
Bonardi
C
C
D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning; D001288:Attention; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009042:Motivation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D051381:Rats