Removing but not adding elements of a context affects generalization of instrumental responses |
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| Authors: | Rodolfo Bernal-Gamboa Javier Nieto Metin Uengoer |
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| Institution: | 1.National Autonomous University of Mexico,Mexico City,Mexico;2.Department of Psychology,Philipps-Universit?t Marburg,Marburg,Germany |
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| Abstract: | Three experiments with rats investigated whether adding or removing elements of a context affects generalization of instrumental behavior. Each of the experiments used a free operant procedure. In Experiments 1 and 2, rats were trained to press a lever for food in a distinctive context. Then, transfer of lever pressing was tested in a context created either by adding an element to the context of initial acquisition or by removing one of the acquisition context’s elements. In Experiment 3, a similar generalization test was conducted after rats received acquisition and extinction within the same context. For Experiments 1 and 2, we observed that removing elements from the acquisition context disrupted acquisition performance, whereas the addition of elements to the context did not. Experiment 3 revealed that removing elements from but not adding elements to the original context improved extinction performance. Our results are consistent with an elemental view of context representation. |
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