Abstract
The effects of trial (T) and intertrial (I) durations were examined in two Pavlovian conditioning experiments with rats, in which a noise conditioned stimulus (CS) was paired with food delivery. In Experiment 1,T was either 10 or 20 sec, andI ranged from 15 to 960 sec, in separate groups of rats. The acquisition rate and final level of conditioned responding showed ratio invariance: They were better predicted by theI/T ratio than byI orT alone. In Experiment 2, theI/T ratio was 6.0 in all the groups, andT was 20, 40, 80, or 160 sec. Ratio invariance was not observed: Despite the commonI/T ratio, the rate of acquisition, final level of conditioned responding, and the ability of the CS to block conditioning of another stimulus differed among the groups. At the same time, the temporal distribution of conditioned responding withinT was similar in all the groups throughout conditioning and extinction and showed superpositioning when normalized acrossT. Many but not all aspects of the data were consistent with scalar timing theory.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Balsam, P. D., &Schwartz, A. L. (1981). Rapid contextual conditioning in autoshaping.Journal of Experimental Psychology,7, 382–393.
Barnet, R. C., Cole, R. P., &Miller, R. R. (1997). Temporal integration in second-order conditioning and sensory preconditioning.Animal Learning & Behavior,25, 221–233.
Barnet, R. C., Grahame, N. J., &Miller, R. R. (1993). Temporal encoding as a determinant of blocking.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,19, 327–341.
Brown, B. L., &Hemmes, N. S. (1997). Timing of the CS-US interval by pigeons in trace and delay autoshaping.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,50B, 40–53.
Buhusi, C. V., &Schmajuk, N. A. (1999). Timing in simple conditioning and occasion setting: A neural network approach.Behavioural Processes,45, 33–57.
Capaldi, E. J. (1967). A sequential hypothesis of instrumental learning. In K. W. Spence & J. T. Spence (Eds.),The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 1, pp. 67–156). New York: Academic Press.
Carrillo, M. C., Thompson, L. T., Gabrieli, J. D. E., &Disterhoft, J. F. (1997). Variation of the intertrial interval in human classical conditioning.Psychobiology,25, 152–157.
Catania, A. C. (1970). Reinforcement schedules and psychophysical judgments. In W. N. Schoenfeld (Ed.),The theory of reinforcement schedules (pp. 1–42). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Ewing, M. F., Larew, M. B., &Wagner, A. R. (1985). Distributionoftrials effects in Pavlovian conditioning: An apparent involvement of inhibitory backward conditioning with short intertrial intervals.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,11, 537–547.
Gallistel, C. R. (1990).The organization of learning. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Gibbon, J. (1977). Scalar expectancy theory and Weber’s law in animal timing.Psychological Review,84, 279–325.
Gibbon, J., Baldock, M. D., Locurto, C. M., Gold, L., &Terrace, H. S. (1977). Trial and intertrial durations in autoshaping.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,3, 264–284.
Gibbon, J., &Balsam, P. (1981). Spreading association in time. In C. M. Locurto, H. S. Terrace, & J. Gibbon (Eds.),Autoshaping and conditioning theory (pp. 219–253). New York: Academic Press.
Gibbon, J., &Church, R. M. (1990). Representation of time.Cognition,37, 23–54.
Grau, J. W., &Rescorla, R. A. (1984). The role of context in autoshaping.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,10, 324–332.
Holland, P. C. (1977). Conditioned stimulus as a determinant of the form of the Pavlovian conditioned response.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,3, 77–104.
Holland, P. C. (1980). CS-US interval as a determinant of the form of Pavlovian appetitive conditioned responses.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,6, 155–174.
Holland, P. C. (1995). The effects of intertrial and feature-target intervals on operant serial feature-positive discrimination learning.Animal Learning & Behavior,23, 411–428.
Holland, P. C. (1999). Intertrial interval effects in Pavlovian serial feature positive discriminations.Animal Learning & Behavior,27, 127–139.
Holland, P. C., Lamoureux, J. A., Han, J.-S., &Gallagher, M. (1999). Hippocampal lesions interfere with negative occasion setting.Hippocampus,9, 143–157.
Holland, P. C., &Morell, J. M. (1996). The effects of feature-target and intertrial intervals (ITI) on learning and performance of serial feature negative discriminations.Learning & Motivation,27, 21–42.
Honey, R. C. (1996). The temporal dynamics of a visual discrimination: The role of stimulus comparison and opponent processes.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,22, 461–471.
Kamin, L. J. (1965). Temporal and intensity characteristics of the conditioned stimulus. In W. F. Prokasy (Ed.),Classical conditioning: A symposium (pp. 118–147). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Killeen, P. (1975). On the temporal control of behavior.Psychological Review,82, 89–115.
Lattal, K. M. (1999). Trial and intertrial durations in Pavlovian conditioning: Issues of learning and performance.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,25, 433–450.
Levey, A. B., &Martin, I. (1968). Shape of the conditioned eyelid response.Psychological Review,75, 398–408.
Mackintosh, N. J. (1983).Conditioning and associative learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Clarendon Press.
Miller, R. R., &Barnet, R. C. (1993). The role of time in elementary associations.Current Directions in Psychological Science,2, 106–111.
Miller, R. R., &Matzel, L. D. (1988). The comparator hypothesis: A response rule for the expression of associations. In G. H. Bower (Ed.),The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 22, pp. 51–92). San Diego: Academic Press.
Ohyama, T., Gibbon, J., Deich, J. D., &Balsam, P. D. (1999). Temporal control during maintenance and extinction of conditioned keypecking in ring doves.Animal Learning & Behavior,27, 89–98.
Papini, M. R., &Brewer, M. (1994). Response competition and the trial spacing effect in autoshaping with rats.Learning & Motivation,25, 201–215.
Rescorla, R. A., &Holland, P. C. (1976). Some behavioral approaches to the study of learning. In E. Bennett & M. R. Rozensweig (Eds.),Neural mechanisms of learning and memory (pp. 165–192). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Rescorla, R. A., &Wagner, A. R. (1972). A theory of Pavlovian conditioning: Variations in the effectiveness of reinforcement and nonreinforcement. In A. H. Black & W. F. Prokasy (Eds.),Classical conditioning II (pp. 64–99). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Roberts, W. A., &Kraemer, P. J. (1982). Some observations of the effects of intertrial interval and delay on delayed matching to sample in pigeons.Journal of Experimental Psychology,8, 342–353.
Ross, L. E. (1961). Conditioned fear as a function of CS-UCS and probe stimulus intervals.Journal of Experimental Psychology,61, 265–273.
Savastano, H. I., &Miller, R. R. (1998). Time as content in Pavlovian conditioning.Behavioural Processes,44, 147–162.
Schmajuk, N. A., Lamoureux, J. A., &Holland, P. C. (1998). Occasion setting: A neural network approach.Psychological Review,105, 3–32.
Schneiderman, N., &Gormezano, I. (1964). Conditioning of the nictitating membrane of the rabbit as a function of CS-US interval.Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology,57, 188–195.
Silva, K. M., &Timberlake, W. (1997). A behavior systems view of conditioned states during long and short CS-US intervals.Learning & Motivation,29, 465–490.
Smith, M. C. (1968). CS-US interval and US intensity in classical conditioning of the rabbit’s nictitating membrane response.Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology,66, 679–687.
Solomon, R. L., &Corbit, J. D. (1974). An opponent-process theory of motivation: I. Temporal dynamics of affect.Psychological Review,81, 119–145.
Spetch, M. L., &Rusak, B. (1989). Pigeons’ memory for event duration: Intertrial interval and delay effects.Animal Learning & Behavior,17, 147–156.
Spetch, M. L., &Rusak, B. (1992). Temporal context effects in pigeons’ memory for event duration.Learning & Motivation,23, 117–144.
Wagner, A. R. (1981). SOP: A model of automatic memory processing in animal behavior. In N. E. Spear & R. R. Miller (Eds.),Information processing in animals: Memory mechanisms (pp. 5–47). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Williams, B. A. (1998). Relative time and delay of reinforcement.Learning & Motivation,29, 236–248.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health. I thank John Chen and James Wallace for technical assistance in Experiment 1 and R. Church and W. Meck for helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper. James Wallace’s participation was part of a mentorship program at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Holland, P.C. Trial and intertrial durations in appetitive conditioning in rats. Animal Learning & Behavior 28, 121–135 (2000). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200248
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200248