Abstract
Thirty-six male and female rats were trained and tested in a blocking paradigm using appetitive reinforcement. For half of the animals, light was used as the original stimulus, whereas a tone was used as the original stimulus for the remaining half. In Stage 1, the original stimulus was reinforced with a food pellet when the rat pressed the lever. Leverpresses were not reinforced when the stimulus was off. In Stage 2, a redundant stimulus was paired with the original stimulus and reinforced with a pellet for each leverpress. In Stage 3, the rats were tested for blocking. Light and tone were equally effective in blocking the redundant stimulus. Both males and females exhibited blocking. These results are in agreement with those of studies using aversive reinforcement.
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Halas, E.S., Eberhardt, M.J. Blocking and appetitive reinforcement. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 25, 121–123 (1987). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330302
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330302