Value transfer in a simultaneous discrimination by pigeons: The value of the S+ is not specific to the simultaneous discrimination context

Abstract

During simultaneous discrimination training, there is evidence that some of the value of the S+ transfers to the S−. When the value of the S+ is altered outside the context of the simultaneous discrimination, two very different predictions are made concerning its effect on its S−, depending on whether one views the S+ as an occasion setter or as a stimulus capable of transferring value. In four experiments, pigeons were trained with two similar simultaneous discriminations, A+B− and C+D−, and two single-stimulus trial types, A and C, (in which A always had greater nominal value than C). According to value transfer theory, on test trials, B should always be preferred over D, because B and D should be affected by the net values of A and C, respectively. According to an occasion setting account, however, D should be preferred over B because the presence of D signals a higher probability of reinforcement for responding to C than when C is alone, and/or the presence of B signals a lower probability of reinforcement for responding to A than when A is alone. In all four experiments, the pigeons preferred B over D, a result consistent with value transfer theory. Thus, an S− can acquire value from an S+ even when that value is conditioned in a “context” different from that of the simultaneous discrimination.