Abstract
Shuttle avoidance acquisition is most rapid when both warning signal termination (WST) and a feedback signal (FS) are made response contingent. A parsimonious interpretation, framed within attention theory, is that the presence of both response-contingent events increases the probability that the subject will attend to a reliable predictor of safety. This explanation was tested by eliminating WST and replacing it with either of two redundant FSs. Although these two experimental groups also contained two predictive events, this situation produced no facilitation over acquisition with a single FS. The combination of WST and an FS initially produced superior responding, but, as expected, the differences are attenuated later in training. These results were interpreted as indicating that WST and an FS serve different reinforcing functions.
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Owen, J.W., Herdegen, R.T. & Cicala, G.A. Warning signal termination does not function as a feedback signal. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 10, 295–297 (1977). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329340
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329340