Attentional and error-correcting associative mechanisms in classical conditioning.
R. A. Rescorla (2000, Rescorla, 2001, Rescorla, 2002) reported that the associative changes undergone by 2 conditioned stimuli that are reinforced or not reinforced in compound depend on their initial associations. The results contradict the predictions of simple error-correction models but can be explained by models that incorporate a "constrained" error-correction rule. A model of classical conditioning presented by N. A. Schmajuk, Y. Lam, and J. A. Gray (1996) suggests that attentional mechanisms, acting during both compound training and testing, have an important role in producing those results. Moreover, the model suggests that those attentional mechanisms might obscure the evaluation of the associative changes undergone by the conditioned stimuli during compound training. Two experiments that differentiate our model from competing theories are proposed.
Schmajuk
Nestor
N
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA. nestor@duke.edu
D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning; D001288:Attention; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008960:Models, Psychological; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D051381:Rats; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule