title: Evidence for the application of rules in Pavlovian electrodermal conditioning with humans.
abstract: Two Pavlovian SCR conditioning experiments investigated interference effects in sequential training of positive and negative patterning discriminations in humans. In Experiment 1, positive patterning (A-, B-, AB+) was trained in Phase 1, immediately followed by a negative patterning schedule (C+, D+, CD-). We predicted that human participants would learn a specific numerosity rule in positive patterning, which interferes with the subsequent negative patterning schedule. In Experiment 2, negative patterning (C+, D+, CD-) was trained in Phase 1, followed by a positive patterning schedule (A-, B-, AB+) in Phase 2. Because human participants would learn an abstract 'separate-versus-together'- or 'opposite'-rule to solve the negative patterning discrimination in Phase 1, there should be less interference in positive patterning in Phase 2 where the separate/together-rule could be applied, too. In both experiments, the initial patterning discriminations were acquired successfully. In Experiment 1, human participants totally failed to solve the Phase 2 discrimination, while in Experiment 2 appropriate response differentiation developed in Phase 2. Thus, without pre-experience human participants seem to utilize a specific numerosity-rule in positive patterning and a separate/together-rule in negative patterning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Gutenbergstr. 18, D - 35032, Marburg, Germany. lachnit@mailer.uni-marburg.de
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lachnit
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lober
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reinhard
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kinder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena