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Recovery from one-trial overshadowing.
R P Cole1, P Oberling, R R Miller
1INSERM U405, Strasbourg, France.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|August 30, 2002
Summary
This study shows that one-trial overshadowing in associative learning can be overcome. Techniques like stimulus extinction and post-training reminders restore learning, suggesting a common mechanism for overshadowing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Animal Learning
Background:
- Multitrial overshadowing is well-explained by current associative learning models.
- One-trial overshadowing, however, is typically attributed to attentional distraction by salient cues, hindering learning of less salient cues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if recovery from one-trial overshadowing can be achieved using methods effective for multitrial overshadowing.
- To explore the underlying mechanisms of cue competition in associative learning.
Main Methods:
- Employing extinction of the overshadowing stimulus.
- Administering a post-training reminder treatment with the overshadowed cue.
Main Results:
- Recovery from one-trial overshadowing was successfully demonstrated using both extinction and reminder treatments.
- The effectiveness of these treatments mirrors findings in multitrial overshadowing scenarios.
Conclusions:
- One-trial and multitrial overshadowing likely share a common underlying mechanism.
- Cue competition may result from a failure to express learned information rather than a failure to learn.