title: Flexible Configural Learning of Non-Linear Discriminations and Detection of Stimulus Compounds.
abstract: Previous work showed that prior experience with discriminations requiring configural solutions (e.g., biconditional discrimination) confers an advantage for the learning of new configural discriminations (e.g., negative patterning) in comparison to prior experience with elemental discriminations. This effect is well established but its mechanism is not well understood. In the studies described below we assessed whether the saliences of configural and element cues were affected by prior training. We observed positive transfer to a new configural discrimination after configural pre-training but we were unable to find evidence for changes in cue salience using a signal-detection task. Our results confirm previous work by demonstrating experience-dependent flexibility in cue processing but they also suggest that this flexibility occurs at a point in the stimulus processing pipeline later than 1-2 s after the presentation of stimulus inputs. (138 words).
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Psychology, Southampton University, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Glautier
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Psychology, Southampton University, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tamaryn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Menneer
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Psychology, Southampton University, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Hayward J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Godwin
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Psychology, Southampton University, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Donnelly
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Psychology, Jaén University, Spain.
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Aristizabal
mesh_terms: D001245:Association Learning; D003463:Cues; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological; D014163:Transfer, Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: associative learning; bi-conditional discrimination; configural; elemental; negative patterning