Poststimulus events in discrimination learning with delayed reinforcement: role of distraction and implications for "marking"

Hall, Geoffrey and Honey, Robert Colin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6870-1880 1993. Poststimulus events in discrimination learning with delayed reinforcement: role of distraction and implications for "marking". Learning and Motivation 24 (3) , pp. 242-254. 10.1006/lmot.1993.1014

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

In three experiments, rats received a successive, auditory discrimination in which presentations of the reinforced stimulus, the S +, were followed after a 30-s trace interval by the delivery of the reinforcer (footshock). Of primary interest was the effect on discrimination learning of presenting a visual stimulus immediately after each auditory cue. In Experiment 1, a 30-s visual cue retarded the development of the discrimination. This effect was taken to reflect the fact that the visual cue had acquired associative strength by virtue of its temporal contiguity with reinforcement on reinforced trials. In Experiments 2A and 2B, the duration of the visual stimulus was reduced to 10 s and 1 s, respectively. The visual stimulus had little impact on discrimination learning in Experiment 2A, but facilitated learning in Experiment 2B. This facilitation was, in large measure, a consequence of the visual cue reducing the extent of generalized responding on nonreinforced S− trials. It is argued that the presence of the visual cue in Experiment 2B disrupts the development of associations between the unique and common elements of the discriminanda that would otherwise mediate generalization between them, and the implication of this interpretation for the notion of "marking" is discussed.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0023-9690
Last Modified:	25 Oct 2022 09:10
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/57569

Citation Data

Cited 5 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item