Learned changes in outcome associability
When a cue reliably predicts an outcome, the associability of that cue will change. Associative theories of learning propose this change will persist even when the same cue is paired with a different outcome. These theories, however, do not extend the same privilege to an outcome; an outcome’s learn...
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44391/ |
| _version_ | 1848796906410475520 |
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| author | Quigley, Martyn C. Eatherington, Carla J. Haselgrove, Mark |
| author_facet | Quigley, Martyn C. Eatherington, Carla J. Haselgrove, Mark |
| author_sort | Quigley, Martyn C. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | When a cue reliably predicts an outcome, the associability of that cue will change. Associative theories of learning propose this change will persist even when the same cue is paired with a different outcome. These theories, however, do not extend the same privilege to an outcome; an outcome’s learning history is deemed to have no bearing on subsequent new learning involving that outcome. Two experiments were conducted which sought to investigate this assumption inherent in these theories using a serial letter-prediction task. In both experiments participants were exposed, in Stage 1, to a predictable outcome (‘X’) and an unpredictable outcome (‘Z’). In Stage 2 participants were exposed to the same outcomes preceded by novel cues which were equally predictive of both outcomes. Both experiments revealed that participants’ learning toward the previously predictable outcome was more rapid in Stage 2 than the previously unpredicted outcome. The implications of these results for theories of associative learning are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:55:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-44391 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:55:25Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-443912020-05-04T18:50:49Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44391/ Learned changes in outcome associability Quigley, Martyn C. Eatherington, Carla J. Haselgrove, Mark When a cue reliably predicts an outcome, the associability of that cue will change. Associative theories of learning propose this change will persist even when the same cue is paired with a different outcome. These theories, however, do not extend the same privilege to an outcome; an outcome’s learning history is deemed to have no bearing on subsequent new learning involving that outcome. Two experiments were conducted which sought to investigate this assumption inherent in these theories using a serial letter-prediction task. In both experiments participants were exposed, in Stage 1, to a predictable outcome (‘X’) and an unpredictable outcome (‘Z’). In Stage 2 participants were exposed to the same outcomes preceded by novel cues which were equally predictive of both outcomes. Both experiments revealed that participants’ learning toward the previously predictable outcome was more rapid in Stage 2 than the previously unpredicted outcome. The implications of these results for theories of associative learning are discussed. Taylor & Francis 2017-06-19 Article PeerReviewed Quigley, Martyn C., Eatherington, Carla J. and Haselgrove, Mark (2017) Learned changes in outcome associability. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology . ISSN 1747-0226 (In Press) outcome processing learning associability attention associative Learning http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17470218.2017.1344258 doi:10.1080/17470218.2017.1344258 doi:10.1080/17470218.2017.1344258 |
| spellingShingle | outcome processing learning associability attention associative Learning Quigley, Martyn C. Eatherington, Carla J. Haselgrove, Mark Learned changes in outcome associability |
| title | Learned changes in outcome associability |
| title_full | Learned changes in outcome associability |
| title_fullStr | Learned changes in outcome associability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Learned changes in outcome associability |
| title_short | Learned changes in outcome associability |
| title_sort | learned changes in outcome associability |
| topic | outcome processing learning associability attention associative Learning |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44391/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44391/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44391/ |