Latent inhibition and perceptual learning in a swimming-pool navigation task.
In each of 3 experiments, rats were preexposed to the 4 distinct landmarks surrounding a circular pool before being trained to find a submerged platform located in a fixed position in the pool. When preexposure was to pairs of adjacent landmarks, it consistently retarded subsequent learning (a latent inhibition effect). When preexposure was to 1 landmark at a time, then, provided the 4 landmarks all contained a salient feature in common, preexposure facilitated subsequent learning (a perceptual learning effect). The results provide little support for the notion of a cognitive map and are quite consistent with an associative analysis.
Prados
J
J
Departament de Psicologia Bàsica, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. jprados@psi.ub.es
Chamizo
V D
VD
Mackintosh
N J
NJ
D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning; D001288:Attention; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009949:Orientation; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012153:Retention, Psychology