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Proactive interference between cues trained with a common outcome in first-order Pavlovian conditioning.
Jeffrey C Amundson1, Martha Escobar, Ralph R Miller
1Department of Psychology, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes
|October 23, 2003
Summary
Proactive interference in Pavlovian conditioning was reduced by extinction and reminder cues. These findings suggest similar interference processes occur between cues and outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Learning and memory
Background:
- Proactive interference occurs when prior learning hinders new learning.
- Understanding interference is crucial for explaining learning and memory processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate proactive interference between separately trained cues (A, X) sharing a common outcome (O).
- To examine if extinction or specific manipulations attenuate this interference.
Main Methods:
- Three lick-suppression studies using water-deprived rats.
- Assessed proactive interference in first-order Pavlovian conditioning (A-O, X-O).
- Manipulations included posttraining extinction of cue A, reminder cues, and renewal.
Main Results:
- Posttraining extinction of the interfering cue (A) attenuated proactive interference.
- Reminder cues and renewal also reduced proactive interference.
- These manipulations mirror those effective for interference between outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Similar underlying processes may govern interference between cues trained apart, cues trained together, and outcomes trained apart.
- Extinction and context manipulations can reduce interference in associative learning.
- Findings contribute to understanding the generalizability of interference mechanisms in associative learning.