Augmentation, not blocking, in an A+/AX+ flavor-conditioning procedure.
An A+/AX+ Pavlovian conditioning design typically produces weakened or blocked conditioning to stimulus X. Two experiments were conducted in which rats first received an odor (A+) paired with an emetic US, and then received odor and taste (AX+) paired with the US. In both experiments, the preconditioned odor facilitated conditioning to the taste. In Experiment 1, a group that received two odor-illness pairings in A+ conditioning had a stronger taste aversion than a group that only had a single odor-illness pairing. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the strengthened taste aversion in the A+/AX+ condition was not due to stimulus generalization. The results represent a unique outcome in the flavor-aversion literature that is similar to potentiation. We propose that this facilitated conditioning to X in the A+/AX+ design be termed augmentation.
Batson
J D
JD
Department of Psychology, Furman University, Greenville, SC 29613, USA. john.batson@furman.edu
Batsell
W R
WR
D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D003463:Cues; D004639:Emetics; D005795:Generalization, Stimulus; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012107:Research Design; D013649:Taste
D004639:Emetics