Abstract
A transfer of control experiment measured the associative properties of contextual stimuli from three standard classical conditioning paradigms. After baseline training on a Sidman avoidance schedule, dogs received aversive conditioning using excitatory, inhibitory, or truly random conditioning procedures in the presence of a manipulable background stimulus. As predicted by current theory (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972; Wagner & Rescorla, 1972), the contextual stimulus was excitatory after serving as the background during conditioning of a CS− and was neutral when it had been part of the background for conditioning of a CS+. The background to the truly random procedure was also neutral. This last result contrasts with Rescorla and Wagner’s theory.
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Research was supported in part by Grant BNS-77-28161 from NSF to J. Bruce Overmier and by Grants BNS-77-22075 from NSF and HD-01136 and HD-0098 from NICHD to the Center for Research in Human Learning.
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Patterson, J., Overmier, J.B. A transfer of control test for contextual associations. Animal Learning & Behavior 9, 316–321 (1981). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197837
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197837