Abstract
In three experiments, rats were presented compound solutions consisting of a common element, saccharin, mixed with one of two different flavor elements, cinnamon and wintergreen. Rats in the experimental groups consistently received a toxicosis-inducing injection following one compound solution but not following the other compound solution. Rats in the control groups received toxicosis-inducing injections half the time following each of the compound solutions. After training in each experiment, there were tests for conditioning to the saccharin alone. The experimental groups drank significantly more than the control groups, indicating that the aversion to the partially reinforced saccharin in isolation was less when the different flavor cues were more highly correlated with reinforcement. In Experiment III, there was also a test for conditioning to the cinnamon or wintergreen flavor alone. The experimental group drank significantly less of the continuously reinforced flavor than the control group did of the partially reinforced flavor. These results are similar to those reported within more traditional conditioning paradigms.
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This report is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the University of California, Los Angeles in 1974.
The research was supported by University of California Graduate Student Patent Fund Grant to the author and University of California, Los Angeles, Academic Senate Research Committee Grant 2386 to Eric W. Holman.
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Luongo, A.F. Stimulus selection in discriminative taste-aversion learning in the rat. Animal Learning & Behavior 4, 225–230 (1976). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03214041
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03214041