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DIFFERENTIAL AUTOSHAPING TO COMMON AND DISTINCTIVE ELEMENTS OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE DISCRIMINATIVE STIMULI 1
Author(s) -
Wasserman Edward A.,
Anderson Patricia A.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1938-3711
pISSN - 0022-5002
DOI - 10.1901/jeab.1974.22-491
Subject(s) - reinforcement , psychology , stimulus (psychology) , shaping , discriminative model , stimulus control , discrimination learning , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , neuroscience , social psychology , artificial intelligence , computer science , nicotine
The learning by hungry pigeons of a discrimination between two successively presented compound visual stimuli was investigated using a two‐key autoshaping procedure. Common and distinctive stimulus elements were simultaneously presented on separate keys and either followed by food delivery, S+, or not, S—. The subjects acquired both between‐trial and within‐trial discriminations. On S+ trials, pigeons pecked the distinctive stimulus more than the common stimulus; before responding ceased on S— trials, they pecked the common stimulus more than the distinctive one. Mastery of the within‐display discrimination during S+ trials preceded mastery of the between‐trials discrimination. These findings extend the Jenkins‐Sainsbury analysis of discriminations based upon a single distinguishing feature to discriminations in which common and distinctive elements are associated with both the positive and negative discriminative stimuli. The similarity of these findings to other effects found in autoshaping—approach to signals that forecast reinforcement and withdrawal from signals that forecast nonreinforcement—is also discussed.