Conditions favoring superconditioning of irrelevant conditioned stimuli.
Three appetitive conditioning experiments with rats found partial learning of complex XA+, XB+, XAB- (+ stands for reinforced; - stands for unreinforced) negative patterning discriminations with intermixed A+ and B+ trials (Experiment 1). AB+ trials (Experiment 2), and A+, B+, and AB+ trials (Experiment 3). In all experiments, differential responding emerged more slowly during the learning of the negative patterning discriminations than during learning of the XA+, XB+, XC- control discriminations. Additionally, the negative patterning groups responded more to X than to a separately reinforced Y on unreinforced test trials: thus, X derived superexcitatory properties. This pattern was reversed in the control groups. Results are consistent with theories that allow for different activation patterns when elements are combined.
Williams
Douglas A
DA
Department of Psychology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9, Canada. williams@uwinnipcg.ca
Mehta
Rick
R
Dumont
Jamie-Lynne
JL
D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D001245:Association Learning; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005364:Field Dependence-Independence; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated; D011582:Psychological Theory; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar