Abstract
Weanling rats were tested for retention of an aversion to a novel flavor (chocolate milk) that had been conditioned as a single-element conditioned stimulus (CS) or in compound with a novel ambient odor (banana). The presence of the ambient odor during conditioning had no effect on flavor aversion shortly thereafter, confirming previous results. The flavor aversion observed 21 days after conditioning, however, was significantly stronger for pups conditioned with the single-element CS than for those given the flavor-odor compound as the CS. This retention effect was due to a surprisingincrease in the conditioned aversion observed 21 days after conditioning with the single-element CS. A second experiment confirmed this paradoxical increase in retention of the aversion to chocolate milk. This experiment also verified that no such increase occurred in retention of the conditioned aversion to a different flavor (saccharin), whether the initial aversion was strong or weak. The results may be explained in terms of generalized latent inhibition from consumption of mother’s milk.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Gubernick, D. J., &Alberts, J. R. (1986) A specialization of taste aversion learning during suckling and its weaning-associated transformationDevelopmental Psychology,17, 613–628.
Kasprow, W. J., Cacheiro, H., Balaz, M. A., &Miller, R. R. (1982). Reminder-induced recovery of associations to an overshadowed stimulus.Learning & Motivation,13, 155–166.
Kaufman, M. A., &Bolles, R. C. (1981). A nonassociative aspect of overshadowing.Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society,18, 319–320.
Keppel, G. (1982).Design and analysis. A researcher’s handbook (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Kraemer, P. J., Hoffmann, H., &Spear, N. E. (1988). Attenuation of the CS-preexposure effect after a retention interval in preweanling rats.Animal Learning & Behavior,16, 185–190.
Kraemer, P. J., Lariviere, N. A., &Spear, N. E. (1988) Expression of a taste aversion conditioned with an odor-taste compound: Overshadowing is relatively weak in weanlings and decreases over a retention interval n adults.Animal Learning & Behavior,16, 164–168.
Kraemer, P. J., &Roberts, W. A. (1984). The influence of flavor preexposure and test interval on conditioned taste aversions in the rat.Learning & Motivation,15, 259–278.
Kraemer, P. J., &Ossenkopp, K.-P. (1986). The effects of flavor preexposure and test interval on conditioned taste aversions in rats.Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society,24, 219–221.
Schweitzer, L., &Green, L. (1982). Acquisition and extended retention of a conditioned taste aversion in preweanling rats.Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology,96, 791–806.
Smith, G. J., &Spear, N. E. (1981) Role of proactive interference in infantile forgetting.Animal Learning & Behavior,9, 371–380.
Spear, N. E. (1978).The processing of memories: Forgetting and retention. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Spear, N. E. (1981). Extending the domain of memory retrieval. In N. E. Spear & R. R. Miller (Eds.),Information processing in animals. Memory mechanisms (pp. 341–378). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Spear, N. E. (1984). Ecologically determined dispositions control the ontogeny of learning and memory. In R. Kail & N. E. Spear (Eds.),Comparative perspectives on the development of memory (pp. 325–358). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Spear, N. E., &Kucharski, D. (1984a). Ontogenetic differences in stimulus selection during conditioning. In R. V. Kail & N. E. Spear (Eds.),Memory development: Comparative perspectives (pp 227–252). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Spear, N. E., &Kucharski, D. (1984b). Ontogenetic differences in the processing of multi-element stimuli: Potentiation and overshadowing. In H. Roitblat, T. Bever, & H. Terrace (Eds.),Animal cognition (pp. 545–568). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Steinert, P. A., Infurna, R. N., &Spear, N. E. (1980). Long-term retention of a conditioned taste aversion in preweanling and adult ratsAnimal Learning & Behavior,8, 375–381.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The present research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (1 RO1 MH35219) to Norman E. Spear.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kraemer, P.J., Lariviere, N.A. & Spear, N.E. Increase in retention of a taste aversion by weanling rats after a long interval. Animal Learning & Behavior 16, 191–194 (1988). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209064
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209064