Spontaneous recovery varies inversely with the training-extinction interval.
Four experiments found the magnitude of spontaneous recovery after extinction to be greater with a shorter interval between initial conditioning and extinction. Experiments 1 and 2 used a Pavlovian magazine approach procedure with rat subjects, Experiment 3 used an instrumental training procedure with rats, and Experiment 4 used a sign-tracking procedure with pigeons. These results are not anticipated by many accounts of spontaneous recovery that attribute it to the fading of learning that occurred during extinction.
Rescorla
Robert A
RA
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. rescorla@cattell.psych.upenn.edu
D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D001245:Association Learning; D003118:Color Perception; D010856:Columbidae; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D005108:Extinction, Psychological; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D051381:Rats; D012033:Refractory Period, Psychological