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Inhibitory control and errorless discrimination learning.

J Karpicke, E Hearst

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

|March 1, 1975

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Pigeons learned to distinguish between positive and negative stimuli. Even in "errorless" learning, the negative stimulus develops inhibitory properties, challenging previous theories.

Area of Science:

Behavioral psychology
Animal cognition
Learning theory

Background:

The concept of "errorless learning" suggests that animals can learn discriminations with minimal errors.
Terrace's fading procedure is a method to achieve errorless learning in animal subjects.
Previous research suggested that the negative stimulus in errorless discriminations might be behaviorally neutral.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the behavioral impact of the negative stimulus in errorless discrimination learning in pigeons.
To re-evaluate Terrace's findings on generalization gradients in "errorless" subjects.
To determine if inhibition develops to nonreinforced stimuli during errorless learning.

Main Methods:

Pigeons were trained using Terrace's fading procedure to discriminate between positive (white) and negative (red or green) stimuli.

Related Experiment Videos

Generalization tests were conducted using intermittent reinforcement for key pecking across various wavelengths.

Response rates were analyzed to assess the behavioral impact of the negative stimulus.

Main Results:

Generalization tests showed minima in responding at the value of the negative stimulus for most "errorless" pigeons.
This contrasts with Terrace's findings of flat gradients, likely due to a floor effect in his extinction procedure.
The results indicate that the negative stimulus is not behaviorally neutral.

Conclusions:

Inhibition develops to the nonreinforced stimulus even during errorless discrimination learning.
A negative correlation between stimulus and reinforcer appears critical for establishing an inhibitory stimulus.
The findings challenge the notion of behaviorally neutral stimuli in errorless learning paradigms.