title: Perceptual learning transfer: Salience of the common element as a factor contributing to the intermixed/blocked effect.
abstract: Rats received intermixed or blocked preexposure to 2 similar flavor compounds, AX and BX. Following preexposure, conditioning trials took place in which a novel compound stimulus NX was paired with an illness-induced unconditioned stimulus. Animals that were given intermixed preexposure to AX and BX showed lower generalization of the aversive response conditioned to NX to a new compound, ZX, than animals that were given blocked preexposure. The results support the proposal that intermixed preexposure reduces the salience of the common element X to a greater extent than blocked preexposure. The way in which current theories of perceptual learning can predict a differential salience of X after intermixed and blocked preexposure is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Psicologia Bàsica, University of Barcelona.
authors.forename: Antonio A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Artigas
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Leicester.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prados
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D014163:Transfer, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*