Abstract
Normally, retention of an avoidance response by a rat is impaired when the test context is novel or does not correspond to the training context. Experiment 1 demonstrates that such an impairment of test performance can be alleviated if a rat receives a cuing treatment or reminder of training in the novel test context prior to testing. Experiment 2 indicates that when rats receive avoidance training in one context and then receive a reminder of training in a novel context, they perform more poorly when tested in the training context than do animals that receive no reminder. This finding is discussed in relation to current theories of contextual influence over retention performance.
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Gordon, W. C., Mowrer, R. R., McGinnis, C. P., & McDermott, M. J.Cue induced proactive interference. Manuscript in preparation, 1983.
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This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation to the second author.
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Mowrer, R.R., Gordon, W.C. Effects of cuing in an “irrelevant” context. Animal Learning & Behavior 11, 401–406 (1983). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199794
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199794