Associative mechanisms involved in specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human learning tasks

Four experiments compared the effect of forward and backward conditioning procedures on the ability of conditioned stimuli (CSs) to elevate instrumental responding in a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) task. Two responses were each trained with one distinct outcome (R1->O1, R2->O2), ei...

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Main Authors: Alarcón, Daniel, Bonardi, Charlotte, Delamater, Andrew
Format: Article
Published: SAGE 2018
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43568/
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author Alarcón, Daniel
Bonardi, Charlotte
Delamater, Andrew
author_facet Alarcón, Daniel
Bonardi, Charlotte
Delamater, Andrew
author_sort Alarcón, Daniel
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Four experiments compared the effect of forward and backward conditioning procedures on the ability of conditioned stimuli (CSs) to elevate instrumental responding in a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) task. Two responses were each trained with one distinct outcome (R1->O1, R2->O2), either concurrently (Experiment 1) or separately (Experiments 2, 3 and 4). Then, in Experiments 1 and 2, four CSs were either followed or preceded by one outcome (A->O1, B->O2, O1->C, O2->D). In Experiment 3 each CS was preceded and followed by an outcome: for one group of participants both outcomes were identical (e.g., O1->A->O1, O2->B->O2), but for the other they were different (e.g., O1->A->O2, O2->B->O1). In Experiment 4 two CSs were preceded and followed by identical outcomes, and two CSs by different outcomes. In the PIT tests participants performed R1 and R2 in the presence and absence of the CSs. In Experiments 1 and 2 only the CSs followed by outcomes in Pavlovian training elevated responding. In Experiments 3 and 4 all the CSs elevated responding but based on the outcome that followed them in training. These results support the stimulusoutcome-response (S-O-R) mechanism of specific PIT, according to which CSs elevate responding via activation of its associated outcome representation.
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spelling nottingham-435682020-05-04T19:24:22Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43568/ Associative mechanisms involved in specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human learning tasks Alarcón, Daniel Bonardi, Charlotte Delamater, Andrew Four experiments compared the effect of forward and backward conditioning procedures on the ability of conditioned stimuli (CSs) to elevate instrumental responding in a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) task. Two responses were each trained with one distinct outcome (R1->O1, R2->O2), either concurrently (Experiment 1) or separately (Experiments 2, 3 and 4). Then, in Experiments 1 and 2, four CSs were either followed or preceded by one outcome (A->O1, B->O2, O1->C, O2->D). In Experiment 3 each CS was preceded and followed by an outcome: for one group of participants both outcomes were identical (e.g., O1->A->O1, O2->B->O2), but for the other they were different (e.g., O1->A->O2, O2->B->O1). In Experiment 4 two CSs were preceded and followed by identical outcomes, and two CSs by different outcomes. In the PIT tests participants performed R1 and R2 in the presence and absence of the CSs. In Experiments 1 and 2 only the CSs followed by outcomes in Pavlovian training elevated responding. In Experiments 3 and 4 all the CSs elevated responding but based on the outcome that followed them in training. These results support the stimulusoutcome-response (S-O-R) mechanism of specific PIT, according to which CSs elevate responding via activation of its associated outcome representation. SAGE 2018-01-01 Article PeerReviewed Alarcón, Daniel, Bonardi, Charlotte and Delamater, Andrew (2018) Associative mechanisms involved in specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human learning tasks. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology . ISSN 1747-0226 Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT); response-outcome associations; backward conditioning incentive motivation human decision making http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/17470218.2017.1342671 doi:10.1080/17470218.2017.1342671 doi:10.1080/17470218.2017.1342671
spellingShingle Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT); response-outcome associations; backward conditioning
incentive motivation
human decision making
Alarcón, Daniel
Bonardi, Charlotte
Delamater, Andrew
Associative mechanisms involved in specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human learning tasks
title Associative mechanisms involved in specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human learning tasks
title_full Associative mechanisms involved in specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human learning tasks
title_fullStr Associative mechanisms involved in specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human learning tasks
title_full_unstemmed Associative mechanisms involved in specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human learning tasks
title_short Associative mechanisms involved in specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) in human learning tasks
title_sort associative mechanisms involved in specific pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (pit) in human learning tasks
topic Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT); response-outcome associations; backward conditioning
incentive motivation
human decision making
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43568/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43568/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43568/