Biasing the development of response topography with nonspecific positive and negative evocative verbal stimuli

• Published in: Journal of Experimental Psychology : Human Learning and Memory 1978-03, Vol.4 (2), p.175-186
• Main Authors: Cody, William J, Grant, David A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Auditory Perception; Color Perception; Conditioned Responses; Conditioned Stimulus; Conditioning, Classical; Conditioning, Eyelid; Cues; Discrimination (Psychology); Eyelid Conditioning; Female; Human; Humans; Male; Reaction Time; Reinforcement; Reinforcement Schedule; Response Bias; Verbal Communication
• ISSN: 0096-1515; 0278-7393; 2327-9745; 1939-1285
• DOI: 10.1037/0278-7393.4.2.175

In an experiment with 120 undergraduates, CR rate and development of CR latency, rise time, and airpuff attenuation were examined for voluntary and conditioned (V- and C-form) responders using 2 nonspecific command words, {do} and {don't}, as CSs in single-cue, double-cue, and differential eyelid conditioning. In both single-cue and differential conditioning, regardless of the command word used to signal the UCS, the Vs produced a higher response rate and learned a better UCS-attenuating response topography than the Cs. However, in a double-cue conditioning paradigm in which both command words were presented alone on different trials and reinforced, response latency was longer and puff attenuation poorer among Vs than when the UCS was signaled by a unique cue. In contrast, adding a 2nd reinforced cue actually enhanced the development of puff-avoidant CR topographies among Cs compared to single-cue conditioning. Results indicate that response topography development is to some extent a labile process that can be biased toward either good or poor puff-avoidant properties and that the factors responsible for influencing CR topography differ for Vs and Cs.