Blocking of Stimulus-reinforcer Association in Rats That Have Learned Response-reinforcer Association

Abstract

Eighteen rats were divided into 3 groups (B, C, Y) to test the blocking effect of prior experience of response-reinforcer associative learning on stimulus-reinforcer associative learning. First, group B was trained to press the lever for unsignaled reinforcer on a CRF schedule. Groups C and Y didn't experience the lever pressing. Next, groups B and C received signaled reinforcer contingent to their CRF lever pressings. Group Y received the signaled reinforcer independently of their behaviors with no lever existed. Finally, all groups were tested by presenting the signal alone independently of their behaviors with the lever removed. Group B showed significantly fewest approaches to the feeder station respondently to the signal presentations. The formation of stimulus-reinforcer association in group B is thought as having been blocked by prior formation of response-reinforcer association.