Abstract
Effects of prior exposure to shape stimuli on learning of a circle/triangle discrimination task were examined in three experiments. The prior exposure given was either differentially reinforced (one of the two shapes associated with food) or nondifferentially reinforced (both shapes associated with food), with exposure given either in a similar or in a different environment (context) to the discrimination task.
In Experiment 1 albino rats were given 30-day prior exposure from age 28 days in a “same context” situation. Differentially reinforced exposure to circle/triangle or to rhombus/oval shapes enhanced learning of the discrimination task compared with controls, while nondifferentially reinforced exposure produced no significant change. In Experiment 2, Part A, brown rats given 30-day same environment differentially reinforced exposure to circle and triangle showed significantly enhanced learning of the discrimination task, but “different environment” exposure had no effect on learning. In Part B, same environment, nondifferentially reinforced exposure had no effect on task learning, but different environment exposure resulted in significant enhancement of learning. In Experiment 3 brown and albino rats were compared on discrimination performance following 15-day differentially reinforced prior exposure in the same environment to circle and triangle shapes. Although there was no difference in discrimination learning for the respective control groups, the pigmented differentially reinforced group showed significantly more enhancement of discrimination learning than did the albino differentially reinforced group. This finding appeared to be related to behavioral differences recorded during prior exposure which indicated that the albino group learned less than the pigmented group about the cue reinforcement relationship.
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This report is based on material that formed part of a dissertation submitted by the first author to the University of Western Australia for the degree of PhD.
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Bell, J.A., Livesey, P.J. Cue Significance Learning From Differentially Reinforced Prior Exposure to Shape Stimuli, in Albino and Brown Rats. Psychol Rec 31, 195–220 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394735
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394735