Journal
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-ANIMAL BEHAVIOR PROCESSES
Volume 31, Issue 3, Pages 267-276Publisher
AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC/EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING FOUNDATION
DOI: 10.1037/0097-7403.31.3.267
Keywords
rats; conditioning; habituation; stimulus salience
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In 2 experiments, rats received exposure to presentations of a footshock preceded by a given cue. In the PRf (partial reinforcement) condition, this cue also occurred in the absence of the shock; in the CRf (continuous reinforcement) condition, it did not. Subsequent testing in which a new stimulus was used to signal the shock (Experiment 1) showed that the shock was more effective as a reinforcer for the PRf than for the CRf group. In Experiment 2, the shock was used as a conditioned stimulus signaling food delivery, and it was found that conditioning occurred more readily in the PRf than in the CRf group. These results accord with the hypothesis that preexposure to the shock results in a decline in its effective salience but that experience of a cue that signals shock in the absence of the shock itself attenuates this effect and helps maintain stimulus salience.
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