Context switch effects on acquisition and extinction in human predictive learning.
Four experiments tested context switch effects on acquisition and extinction in human predictive learning. A context switch impaired probability judgments about a cue-outcome relationship when the cue was trained in a context in which a different cue underwent extinction. The context switch also impaired judgments about a cue trained in a context different from the extinction context, whenever this training was concurrent with extinction of another cue. After extinction, new cue-outcome relationships learned, even in a different task, became context specific. Moreover, renewal was consistently observed. It is suggested that context switch effects result from a process by which ambiguity leads participants to attend to the contexts.
Rosas
Juan M
JM
University of Jaén, Jaén, Spain. jmrosas@ujaen.es
Callejas-Aguilera
José E
JE
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003463:Cues; D005108:Extinction, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*