Ordinal position learning and remote anticipation.
Rats were runway trained on each of two 3-trial series of reward outcomes. The series are labeled XNY and ZNN, for which X represents a trial that was rewarded with Noyes pellets and N represents a trial that ended with no reward. Units of distinctively flavored breakfast cereals served as reward on trials labeled Y and Z. One group (Floor) had each series occur with a correlated runway floor, either smooth and black or rough and white. For a second group (Memory), the floor cue was uncorrelated with series. Animals in both groups learned to approach the goal rapidly on the 1st trials of the 2 series and slowly on the 2nd trials, but only Group Floor learned to differentiate the 3rd trials of the series. These results recommend a view of serial learning that emphasizes the role played by information about the ordinal position of series items.
Burns
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RA
Department of Psychology, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau 63701, USA. rburns@semovm.semo.edu
Dunkman
J A
JA
D000818:Animals; D003463:Cues; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012201:Reward; D012420:Running