Abstract
In an autoshaping procedure, pigeons received concurrent exposure to both a discrimination and a pseudodiscrimination treatment with color-line orientation compounds. One color was presented with the orientations when they were differentially reinforced; the other color was presented when the same orientations were given in a pseudodiscrimination procedure. Subsequently, responding was assessed to the separately presented colors. When the elements of the color-orientation compounds had been presented simultaneously, the color from the discrimination received less conditioning than did that from the pseudodiscrimination. However, when the color preceded the orientations during training, the color from the discrimination treatment became more conditioned than did that from the pseudodiscrimination. Although reconciling some apparent discrepancies from previous studies, these results also point to an incompleteness in current theories of discrimination learning.
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This research was supported by NSF Grant BNS-78-02752.
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Udell, H., Rescorla, R.A. Conditioning of simultaneous and successive common elements in a discrimination and pseudodiscrimination. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 14, 453–456 (1979). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329509
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329509