The effect of conditioned inhibition on the specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect

Four experiments examined the effect of Pavlovian conditioned inhibition on specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human participants. The task comprised an instrumental phase in which two responses (R1, R2) were each paired with one of two outcomes (O1, O2: R1-->O1, R2-->O2), and a...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alarcón, Daniel, Bonardi, Charlotte
Format: Article
Published: American Psychological Association 2016
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30410/
_version_ 1848793979872608256
author Alarcón, Daniel
Bonardi, Charlotte
author_facet Alarcón, Daniel
Bonardi, Charlotte
author_sort Alarcón, Daniel
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Four experiments examined the effect of Pavlovian conditioned inhibition on specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human participants. The task comprised an instrumental phase in which two responses (R1, R2) were each paired with one of two outcomes (O1, O2: R1-->O1, R2-->O2), and a Pavlovian phase, in which two CSs, CS1 and CS2 each signalled one of the two outcomes (CS1-->O1, CS2-->O2). In Experiments 1-2 a conditioned inhibitor, X, predicted the omission of one of the outcomes (e.g. CS1-->O1, CS1X-->nothing). In a subsequent test, performance of R1 and R2 was examined in the presence of CS1 and CS2. A specific PIT effect was observed: R1 was performed more than R2 during CS1, and R2 more than R1 during CS2. This PIT effect was significantly reduced by the presence of the inhibitor X in Experiment 1, in which the Pavlovian phase followed the instrumental phase, and in Experiment 2 in which it preceded it. No such effect was observed when X was presented in the absence of any expectation of the outcomes during the PIT test (Experiment 3a), or when X was trained as a signal for an alternative outcome (Experiment 3b). These results are consistent with the suggestion that the specific PIT effect occurs through a stimulus-outcome-response (S-O-R) mechanism, according to which the CS evokes a representation of the outcome which in turn elicits the response (e.g. CS1-->O1-->R1). The conditioned inhibitor suppresses performance of the response by suppressing activation of the outcome representation.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T19:08:54Z
format Article
id nottingham-30410
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T19:08:54Z
publishDate 2016
publisher American Psychological Association
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-304102020-05-04T17:24:26Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30410/ The effect of conditioned inhibition on the specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect Alarcón, Daniel Bonardi, Charlotte Four experiments examined the effect of Pavlovian conditioned inhibition on specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human participants. The task comprised an instrumental phase in which two responses (R1, R2) were each paired with one of two outcomes (O1, O2: R1-->O1, R2-->O2), and a Pavlovian phase, in which two CSs, CS1 and CS2 each signalled one of the two outcomes (CS1-->O1, CS2-->O2). In Experiments 1-2 a conditioned inhibitor, X, predicted the omission of one of the outcomes (e.g. CS1-->O1, CS1X-->nothing). In a subsequent test, performance of R1 and R2 was examined in the presence of CS1 and CS2. A specific PIT effect was observed: R1 was performed more than R2 during CS1, and R2 more than R1 during CS2. This PIT effect was significantly reduced by the presence of the inhibitor X in Experiment 1, in which the Pavlovian phase followed the instrumental phase, and in Experiment 2 in which it preceded it. No such effect was observed when X was presented in the absence of any expectation of the outcomes during the PIT test (Experiment 3a), or when X was trained as a signal for an alternative outcome (Experiment 3b). These results are consistent with the suggestion that the specific PIT effect occurs through a stimulus-outcome-response (S-O-R) mechanism, according to which the CS evokes a representation of the outcome which in turn elicits the response (e.g. CS1-->O1-->R1). The conditioned inhibitor suppresses performance of the response by suppressing activation of the outcome representation. American Psychological Association 2016-01-01 Article PeerReviewed Alarcón, Daniel and Bonardi, Charlotte (2016) The effect of conditioned inhibition on the specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition . ISSN 2329-8456 http://psycnet.apa.org/psycarticles/2015-51339-001 doi:10.1037/xan0000087 doi:10.1037/xan0000087
spellingShingle Alarcón, Daniel
Bonardi, Charlotte
The effect of conditioned inhibition on the specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect
title The effect of conditioned inhibition on the specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect
title_full The effect of conditioned inhibition on the specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect
title_fullStr The effect of conditioned inhibition on the specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect
title_full_unstemmed The effect of conditioned inhibition on the specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect
title_short The effect of conditioned inhibition on the specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect
title_sort effect of conditioned inhibition on the specific pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30410/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30410/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30410/