Abstract
Items in a fixed series A-B-C can be anticipated employing either item information (e.g., ItemA cues signal Item B) or position information (e.g., Position 2 cues signal Item B). Identical fixed series of rewarded and nonrewarded trials were employed in investigations reported by Capaldi and Miller (1988), Capaldi, Alptekin, Miller, and Birmingham (1997), and Burns, Dunkman, and Detloff (1999). These series were learned employing item cues according to Capaldi and colleagues and position cues according to Burns et al. (1999). Burns et al.’s (1999) conclusions were based on rats’ behavior when shifted to novel series, which could reveal position learning but not item learning. Employing the acquisition conditions of Burns and co-workers but shifts to series that could reveal item learning, evidence for item learning was obtained in two experiments. The most reasonable interpretation of the above set of findings is that rats employ a compound of both types of cues to signal items. To our knowledge, no set of prior findings so strongly suggests a similar conclusion.
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Capaldi, E.J., Miller, R.M. Stimulus control of anticipatory responding in instrumental learning as revealed in serial learning tasks. Animal Learning & Behavior 29, 165–175 (2001). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03192825
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03192825