Abstract
The first and most prominent study of selective associations was the so-called bright-noisy-water experiment by Garcia and Koelling (1966). This study was a landmark in the development of thinking about biological constraints on learning and remains the most highly cited study of selective associations, even though it lacked important controls. I first describe the original experiment and initial criticisms of it. I then discuss the various control issues that were ignored in the original experiment but addressed in subsequent research. In this account, I rely primarily on research conducted in my laboratory, because the problems were not addressed by any other investigators. Along the way, I discuss the discovery of a selective sensitization effect related to the Garcia-Koelling findings, ways to rule out selective sensitization, and studies of selective associations in pre-weanling rats. I conclude with a look back at the impact of the Garcia-Koelling experiment and recommendations for new generations of students in the field.
Highlights
The first and most prominent study of selective associations was the so-called bright-noisy-water experiment by Garcia and Koelling (1966)
I discuss the discovery of a selective sensitization effect related to the Garcia-Koelling findings, ways to rule out selective sensitization, and studies of selective associations in pre-weanling rats
Garcia contributed two major phenomena to the development of the biological constraints movement. One of these was the phenomenon of selective associations (Garcia & Koelling, 1966) and the other was his discovery of long-delay taste aversion learning (Garcia, Ervin, & Koelling, 1966)
Summary
The Garcia-Koelling Selective Association Effect: A Historical and Personal Perspective. Garcia contributed two major phenomena to the development of the biological constraints movement One of these was the phenomenon of selective associations (Garcia & Koelling, 1966) and the other was his discovery of long-delay taste aversion learning (Garcia, Ervin, & Koelling, 1966). The second outstanding feature of the original Garcia-Koelling experiment was that it involved a double dissociation design, showing a reversal in the strength of aversion learning to different types of cues as a function of the type of unconditioned stimulus (US) that was used. This is a critical feature for all studies of selective associations. If one regards the selective association effect as showing a biological constraint in poison-avoidance learning, we should conclude that it shows a biological constraint in fear conditioning. (Others have subsequently demonstrated that rats can learn an aversion to taste paired with shock, but it is important to keep in mind that such tasteshock learning was obtained under conditions very different from those employed in the selective association experiments.)
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