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SUPPORT FOR A THEORY OF MEMORY FOR EVENT DURATION MUST DISTINGUISH BETWEEN TEST‐TRIAL AMBIGUITY AND ACTUAL MEMORY LOSS
Author(s) -
Zentall Thomas R.
Publication year - 1999
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.1999.72-467
Subject(s) - duration (music) , interval (graph theory) , event (particle physics) , ambiguity , psychology , engram , audiology , stimulus (psychology) , cognitive psychology , statistics , computer science , mathematics , medicine , art , physics , literature , combinatorics , quantum mechanics , programming language
Staddon and Higa's (1999) trace‐strength theory of timing and memory for event duration can account for pigeons' bias to “choose short” when retention intervals are introduced and to “choose long” when, following training with a fixed retention interval, retention intervals are shortened. However, it does not account for the failure of pigeons to choose short when the intertrial interval is distinct from the retention interval. That finding suggests that stimulus generalization (or ambiguity) between the intertrial interval and the retention interval may result in an effect that has been attributed to memory loss. Such artifacts must be eliminated before a theory of memory for event duration can be adequately tested.