Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer: Paradoxical effects of the pavlovian relationship explained

Cohen-Hatton, Sabrina R.; Haddon, Josephine E.; George, David N.; Honey, R. C.

Abstract

Four experiments with rats examined the origin of outcome-selective Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT). Experiment 1 used a standard procedure, where outcomes were embedded within extended conditioned stimuli (CSs), to demonstrate the basic effect: Pavlovian stimuli augmented instrumental lever presses that had been paired with the same outcomes. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that after instrumental conditioning, whereas a conditioned stimulus (CS) trained using a backward conditioning procedure produced outcome-selective PIT, forward conditioning with a CS did not. These results are consistent with the idea that backward conditioning results in the outcome provoking its associated instrumental response during the CS and thereby allows a stimulus-response association to be acquired that directly generates outcome-selective PIT at test. Experiment 4 provided direct support for the assumptions that underlie this stimulus-response analysis. These results, and other paradoxical effects of the Pavlovian relationship, are incongruent with accounts of outcome-selective PIT that rely on a stimulus-outcome-response chain.

Citation

Cohen-Hatton, S. R., Haddon, J. E., George, D. N., & Honey, R. C. (2013). Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer: Paradoxical effects of the pavlovian relationship explained. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 39(1), 14-23. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030594

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 1, 2012
• Publication Date: Aug 13, 2013
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Journal: Journal Of Experimental Psychology-Animal Behavior Processes
• Print ISSN: 0097-7403
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 39
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 14-23
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030594
• Keywords: REF 2014 submission!
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/468993