Abstract
Two appetitive transfer-of-control experiments were conducted to investigate the role of instrumental response learning during the noncontingent pairing phase in transfer. The behavioral observation made in Experiment 1 suggested the operation of a food-cup approach response mediation. When the suggested food-cup approach response mediation was precluded in Experiment 2, a negative transfer effect was obtained. The two experiments exposed methodological problems involved in appetitive transfer experiments and raised questions with regard to the validity of the conclusions drawn in the past based on the type of transfer experiments reported here.
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These studies were conducted by the first author as part of his master’s thesis under the supervision of the second author.
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Naitoh, S., Staats, A.W. Positive and negative transfer of control: Instrumental response mediation and response competition. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 15, 317–320 (1980). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334544
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334544