Abstract
Discrimination between a tone + light compound and its components in positive and negative patterning schedules was examined. In the positive schedule, reinforced compound presentations (C+) were intermixed with unreinforced component presentations (T−, L−). In the negative schedule, the compound was unreinforced (C−) and the components were reinforced (T+, L+). In Experiment 1, appetitive conditioning of rats’ anticipatory magazine responses was used, and in Experiment 2, aversive conditioning of the rabbit’s nictitating membrane response was used. Both experiments revealed that the positive patterning schedule consistently produced rapid acquisition of appropriate discriminative responding. The results of the negative patterning schedule were more complex. Specifically, the results of Experiment 1 demonstrated that naive rats initially showed rapid acquisition of the negative patterning discrimination. However, schedule reversals revealed that experience with the positive patterning schedule virtually abolished subsequent acquisition of discriminative responding under the negative patterning schedule. The results of Experiment 2 revealed that naive rabbits showed very slow acquisition of discriminative responding under the negative patterning schedule. The results are discussed in relation to the unique-stimulus hypothesis, a contextual encoding hypothesis, and a configural hypothesis.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker, T. W. (1968). Properties of compound conditioned stimuli and their components.Psychological Bulletin,70, 611–625.
Baker, T. W. (1972). Component dynamics within compound stimuli. In R. F. Thompson & J. F. Voss (Eds.),Topics in learning and performance. New York: Academic Press
Bellingham, W. P., &Gillette, K. (1981). Spontaneous configuring to a tone-light compound using appetitive training.Learning and Motivation,12, 420–434.
Blough, D. S. (1969). Attention shifts in a maintained discriminationScience,166, 125–126.
Blough, D. S. (1972). Recognition by the pigeon of stimuli varying in two dimensions.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior,18, 345–367.
Gillette, K. A. (1980).Responses by rats to complex gustatory stimuli: A study of configurational learning. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT.
Gillette, K., &Bellingham, W. P. (1982). Loss of within-compound flavour associations: Configural preconditioning.Experimental Animal Behaviour,1, 1–17
Gormezano, I. (1966). Classical conditioning. In J. B. Sidowski (Ed.),Experimental methods and instrumentation in psychobgy. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Gray, T., &Lethbridge, D. A. (1976). Configural conditioning in the CER: Loss of element strength after repeated reinforced compound CS trials.Learning and Motivation,7, 532–539.
Heinemann, E. G., &Chase, S. (1970). Conditioned stimulus control.Journal of Experimental Psychology,84, 187–197.
Hull, C. L. (1940). Exploration in the patterning of stimuli conditioned to the GSR.Journal of Experimental Psychology,27, 95–110
Hull, C. L. (1943).Principles of behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Hull, C. L. (1945). The discrimination of stimulus configurations and the hypothesis of neural afferent interaction.Psychological Review,52, 133–139.
Kehoe, E. J. (1982). Overshadowing and summation in compound stimulus conditioning of the rabbit’s nictitating membrane response.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,8, 313–328.
Kehoe, E. J., Feyer, A., &Moses, J. L. (1981). Second-order conditioning of the rabbit’s nictitating membrane response as a function of the CS2-CS1 and CS1-US intervals.Animal Learning & Behavior,9, 304–315
Kehoe, E. J., &Gormezano, I. (1980). Configuration and combination laws in conditioning with compound stimuli.Psychological Bulletin,87, 351–378.
Mackintosh, N. J. (1975). A theory of attention: Variation in the associability of stimuli with reinforcement.Psychological Review,82, 276–298
Pavlov, I. P. (1927).Conditioned reflexes (G. V. Anrep, Trans.). London: Oxford University Press.
Pearce, J. M., &Hall, G. (1980). A model for Pavlovian conditioning: Variations in the effectiveness of conditioned but not of unconditioned stimuli.Psychological Review,87, 532–552.
Razran, G. (1965). Empirical codifications and specific theoretical implications of compound-stimulus conditioning: Perception. In W. F. Prokasy (Ed.),Classical conditioning (pp. 226–248). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Razran, G. (1971).Mind in evolution. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Rescorla, R. A. (1972). “Configural” conditioning in discrete-trial bar pressing.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology,79, 307–317.
Rescorla, R. A. (1973). Evidence for the “unique stimulus” account of configural conditioning.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology,85, 331–338.
Rescorla, R. A., &Wagner, A. R. (1972). A theory of Pavlovian conditioning: Variations in the effectiveness of reinforcement and non-reinforcement. In A. H. Black & W. F. Prokasy (Eds.),Classical conditioning II. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Saavedra, M. A. (1975). Pavlovian compound conditioning in the rabbit.Learning and Motivation,6, 314–326.
Scandrett, J. &Gormezano, I. (1980). Microprocessor control and A-D data acquisition in classical conditioning.Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation,12, 120–125.
Shepard, R. N. (1974). Representation of structure in similarity data: Problems and prospects.Psychometrika,39, 373–421.
Weiss, S. J. (1972). Stimulus compounding in free-operant and classical conditioning.Psychological Bulletin,78, 189–208.
Whitlow, J. W., &Wagner, A. R. (1972). Negative patterning in classical conditioning: Summation of response tendencies to isolable and configural components.Psychonomic Science,27, 299–301.
Woodbury, C.B. (1943). The learning of stimulus patterns in dog.Journal of Comparative Psychology,35, 29–40.
Young, D. B., &Pearce, J. M. (1984). The influence of generalization decrement on the outcome of a feature-positive discrimination.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,36B, 331–352.
Zuckerman, D. C. (1973). Steady state responding based upon simple and compound stimuli.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior,20, 209–218.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The junior authors mourn the death of the senior author, William P Bellingham.
This research was supported by grants from the Australian Research Grants Committee.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bellingham, W.P., Gillette-Bellingham, K. & Kehoe, E.J. Summation and configuration in patterning schedules with the rat and rabbit. Animal Learning & Behavior 13, 152–164 (1985). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199268
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199268