Abstract
In three experiments, rats received appetitive conditioning with two unconditioned stimuli (US+ and US*) that supported a similar conditioned response. Stimulus A was first paired with US+, and then, for a second stage of training, the compound AB was paired with US*. Subsequent test trials with A revealed an abnormally strong conditioned response. The findings from additional groups indicated that such enhanced conditioning with A depended on the presence of B in the second stage and on the use of US+ and US* for the two training stages. A modification to a configural theory of conditioning is proposed in order to explain the results.
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This research was supported by a grant from the BBSRC of the United Kingdom. We thank Rob Honey for his many helpful comments concerning this work.
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Pearce, J.M., Redhead, E.S. Enhanced Pavlovian conditioning with a change in appetitive reinforcer. Animal Learning & Behavior 27, 369–378 (1999). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209974
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209974