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  • Title: Discrimination between outcomes in instrumental learning: effects of preexposure to the reinforcers.
    Author: Blair CA, Blundell P, Galtress T, Hall G, Killcross S.
    Journal: Q J Exp Psychol B; 2003 Aug; 56(3):253-65. PubMed ID: 12881161.
    Abstract:
    In two experiments rats received instrumental training with two response levers, one response being reinforced by sucrose solution and the other by sucrose pellets. Prior to a test session, on which both levers were made available in the absence of reinforcement, the rats were given free access to one of the reinforcers, a procedure known to reduce its value. It was found that the rats responded at a lower rate on the lever that had produced the now-devalued reinforcer, but that this effect was substantial only in rats that had received preexposure to the two reinforcers before instrumental training was begun (Experiment 1). Experiment 2 demonstrated that this effect was obtained only when presentations of the two reinforcers were presented according to an inter-mixed schedule during preexposure. It is suggested that this result constitutes an instance of the perceptual learning effect in which intermixed preexposure to similar events enhances their discriminability.
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