Abstract
An ambient maple odor was paired with illness in rats ranging in age from weaning to old age. The animals then were tested for an aversion to a maple-odored solution. The results indicated no aversion to the odored solution at any age level and, hence, support previous research indicating that odor is a weak cue for illness. However, both young-adult and old-age rats made ill after drinking water in the absence of odor preferred the maple-odored solution to plain water. This finding suggests that, whereas odor may be a weak cue for illness in adult rats, it may be an effective safety signal. In contrast, weanling rats made ill in the presence of the odor preferred the odored solution. This paradoxical preference was explained in terms of olfactory imprinting and the effect punishment has on imprinted responses.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alberts, J. R. (1984). Sensory-perceptual development in the Norway rat: A view toward comparative studies. In R. Kail and N. E. Spear (Eds.), Comparative perspectives on the development of memory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Best, M. R., & Barker, L. M. (1977). The nature of “learned safety” and its role in the delay of reinforcement gradient. In L. M. Barker, M. R. Best, & M. Domjan (Eds.), Learning mechanisms in food selection. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.
Caza, P., & Spear, N. (1984). Short-term exposure to an odor increases its subsequent preference in preweanling rats: A descriptive profile of the phenomenon. Developmental Psychobiology, 17, 407–422.
Cheatle, M. D., & Rudy, J. W. (1978). Analysis of second-order conditioning in neonatal rats: Implications for Kamin’s blocking effect. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 4, 237–249.
Cheatle, M. D., & Rudy, J. W. (1979). Ontogeny of second-order odor-aversion conditioning in neonatal rats. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 5, 142–151.
Collier, A. C, Mast, J., Meyer, D. R., & Jacobs, C. E. (1979). Approach-avoidance conflict in preweanling rats: A developmental study. Animal Learning & Behavior, 7, 514–520.
Durlach, P. J., & Rescorla, R. A. (1980). Potentiation rather than overshadowing in flavor-aversion learning: An analysis in terms of within-compound associations. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 6(2), 175–187.
Garcia, J., & Koelling, R. (1967). A comparison of aversions induced by X rays, toxins, and drugs in the rat. Radiation Research Supplement, 7, 439–450.
Hankins, W. G., Garcia, J., & Rusiniak, K. W. (1973). Dissociation of odor and taste in baitshyness. Behavioral Biology, 8,407–419.
Kovach, J. K., & Hess, E. H. (1963). Imprinting: Effects of painful stimulation upon the following response. Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology, 56, 461–464.
Martin, L. T., & Alberts, J. R. (1979). Taste aversions to mother’s milk: The age-related role of nursing in acquisition and expression of a learned association. Journal of Comparative & Physiological Psychology, 93, 430–445.
Misanin, J. R., Peterson, C. S., Valliere, W., Blatt, L. A., & Hinderliter, C. F. (1985, March). Potentiation of taste aversion by odor cues. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston.
Peterson, C. S., Benton, N., Gordon, I., Misanin, J. R., & Hinderliter, C. (1985, March). The role of homecage environmental stimuli in the facilitation of shock-motivated spatial discrimination in rat pups. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston.
Rusiniak, K. W., Hankins, W. G., Garcia, J., & Brett, L. P. (1979). Flavor-illness aversions: Potentiation of odor by taste in rats. Behavioral & Neural Biology, 25, 1–17.
Schapiro, S., & Salas, M. (1970). Behavioral response of infant rats to maternal odors. Physiology and Behavior, 5, 815–817.
Wigal, T., Kucharski, D., & Spear, N. E. (1984). Familiar contextual odors promote discrimination learning in preweanling but not in older rats. Developmental Psychobiology, 17, 555–570.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Valliere, W.A., Peterson, C.S., Misanin, J.R. et al. Age-differences in odor preference following an odor-illness pairing. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 23, 427–429 (1985). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330205
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330205