Analysis of blocking of flavor-preference conditioning based on nutrients and palatable tastes in rats.
In Experiment 1 rats were given training in which a mixture of two flavors was paired with sucrose. This established a substantial preference for each of the flavors; however, when rats were given prior experience with just one of the flavors paired with sucrose, training with the compound produced only a weak preference for the other - an example of the blocking effect, well known in other associative learning paradigms. Both the palatable taste of sucrose and its nutrient properties contribute to its ability to reinforce preference acquisition. The role of these two forms of learning was examined in two further experiments in which the reinforcer used was fructose (which is considered to support preference learning because it is palatable but not through its nutrient properties) or maltodextrin (thought to support preference learning by way of its nutrient properties). In neither case was blocking observed. At the theoretical level, this outcome constitutes a challenge to the attempt to explain flavor-preference learning in terms of the standard principles of associative learning theory. Its implication at the level of application is that the potential of the blocking procedure as a technique for preventing the development of unwanted flavor preferences may be limited.
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Campus Cartuja s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain. Electronic address: fgreyes@ugr.es.
Felisa
F
González
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Campus Cartuja s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain.
David
D
Garcia-Burgos
Department of Psychology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK; School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; School of Psychology, Plymouth University, Plymouth, UK.
Geoffrey
G
Hall
D000818:Animals; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000502:physiology*; D005632:Fructose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013649:Taste; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000502:physiology*
D011134:Polysaccharides; D005632:Fructose; D013395:Sucrose; C008315:maltodextrin
Blocking; Flavor preference; Flavor–nutrient learning; Flavor–taste learning; Rat; Sweet taste