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ERIC Number: EJ746271
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Nov
Pages: 15
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0023-9690
EISSN: N/A
An Analysis of Sequential Variables in Pavlovian Conditioning Employing Extended and Limited Acquisition Training
Miller, Ronald Mellado; Capaldi, E. John
Learning and Motivation, v37 n4 p289-303 Nov 2006
Sequential theory's memory model of learning has been successfully applied in response contingent instrumental conditioning experiments (Capaldi, 1966, 1967, 1994; Capaldi & Miller, 2003). However, it has not been systematically tested in nonresponse contingent Pavlovian conditioning experiments. The present experiments attempted to determine if several sequential variables affect responding in Pavlovian situations as they do in instrumental ones. Of primary concern here were the effects on extinction of number of NR transitions (the number of times a nonreinforced trial is followed by a reinforced trial), N-length (the number of successive nonreinforced trials that precede a reinforced trial), and percentage of reinforcement (50 versus 100%) following either extended acquisition training (Experiment 1, 720 trials) or limited acquisition training (Experiment 3, 24 trials). In agreement with a sequential analysis, N-length increased resistance to extinction more than number of NR transitions following extensive training with the opposite occurring following limited training. In Experiment 1, greater resistance to extinction was associated with 50% than with 100% reinforcement, a partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE). Experiment 2 examined an anomalous finding obtained in Experiment 1. A major theoretical difference between instrumental and Pavlovian conditioning has been held to be the greater ease of producing a PREE in instrumental than in Pavlovian conditioning (Kimble, 1961; Mackintosh, 1974). However, the findings obtained here suggest that the probability of obtaining a PREE and other Pavlovian extinction effects, as in instrumental conditioning, increases along with the effectiveness of the sequential variables employed.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A