Abstract
In six experiments, we examined taste and compound taste/taste aversions at different retention intervals. In Experiment 1, saccharin aversions were significantly weaker 1 day after conditioning than 21 days after conditioning. This effect was determined not to be caused by the aftereffects of illness or differential hydration. With the use of a saccharin/denatonium compound, Experiment 2 demonstrated overshadowing of a denatonium aversion at 21- and 1-day retention intervals, Experiment 4 showed a potentiated saccharin aversion only at the 21-day retention interval, and both Experiments 2 and 4 revealed that the aversion of the taste-only controls was stronger at the later retention interval. Experiments 3 and 5 demonstrated that the differences at the two retention intervals were not caused by unconditioned changes in taste preference. Finally, Experiment 6 showed that extinction of the conditioning environment prior to testing results in stronger saccharin aversions than occur in nonextinguished controls. Collectively, these experiments suggest that testing within a 24-h period after conditioning will result in significantly weaker taste aversions. Also, these results support a retrieval-competition explanation that may account for the weakened aversions at the 1-day testing interval of both groups conditioned to single elements and those conditioned to compounds.
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This research was supported by NSF Grant BNS-8809508 and by the Federal Aviation Administration. The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their assistance in the completion of this project: Andrew K. Block, Jeannine Georgiades, J. Chris Graves, Allen Hornell, Howard Hurd, Craig Senglin, Theresa Smith, and David Striegel. We would also like to thank Atomergic Chemetals Corporation, 91 Carolyn Boulevard, Farmingdale, NY 11735-1527 for supplying the denatonium saccharide.
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Batsell, W.R., Best, M.R. Variations in the retention of taste aversions: Evidence for retrieval competition. Animal Learning & Behavior 20, 146–159 (1992). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200412
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200412