Effects of classical predifferentiation on the functional properties of supplementary feedback cues

Previous studies of the regulation of psychomotor learning by predifferentiated supplementary feedback cues lacked adequate controls for the unequivocal assignment of effects to the transfer of specific conditional cue properties as opposed, say, to the transfer of nonspecific factors such as warm-up and arousal. The present study employed 96 Ss in order to compare the performance level produced by differentiated cues with the levels achieved under CS-only, UCS-only, and neutral control conditions. The levels of learning achieved under the three control conditions were not significantly different from one another, while the level produced by differentiated cues was significantly superior to control levels. Thus, within the context of this study and its predecessors, classical differentiation of supplementary feedback cues was necessary as well as sufficient for performance enhancement; and the specific transfer hypothesis was upheld.