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A configural theory of attention and associative learning (2012)
Journal Article
George, D. N., & Pearce, J. M. (2012). A configural theory of attention and associative learning. Learning and Behavior, 40(3), 241-254. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13420-012-0078-2

A formal account of the relationship between attention and associative learning is presented within the framework of a configural theory of discrimination learning. The account is based on a connectionist network in which the entire pattern of stimul... Read More about A configural theory of attention and associative learning.

Contextual modulation of attention in human category learning (2012)
Journal Article
George, D. N., & Kruschke, J. K. (2012). Contextual modulation of attention in human category learning. Learning and Behavior, 40(4), 530-541. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13420-012-0072-8

In a category-learning experiment, we assessed whether participants were able to selectively attend to different components of a compound stimulus in two distinct contexts. The participants were presented with stimulus compounds for which they had to... Read More about Contextual modulation of attention in human category learning.

Dissociation of prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens dopaminergic systems in conditional learning in rats (2011)
Journal Article
George, D. N., Jenkins, T. A., & Killcross, S. (2011). Dissociation of prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens dopaminergic systems in conditional learning in rats. Behavioural Brain Research, 225(1), 47-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2011.06.028

There is converging evidence that the prefrontal and mesolimbic dopaminergic (DAergic) systems are involved in the performance of a variety of tasks that require the use of contextual, or task-setting, information to select an appropriate response fr... Read More about Dissociation of prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens dopaminergic systems in conditional learning in rats.

Impaired conditional task performance in a high schizotypy population: Relation to cognitive deficits (2011)
Journal Article
Haddon, J. E., George, D. N., Grayson, L., McGowan, C., Honey, R. C., & Killcross, S. (2011). Impaired conditional task performance in a high schizotypy population: Relation to cognitive deficits. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2010.529579

Cognitive impairments in schizophrenia have been characterized as reflecting a core deficit in the maintenance or use of task-setting cues to mediate appropriate ongoing behaviour. This analysis suggests that cognitive deficits in schizophrenia will... Read More about Impaired conditional task performance in a high schizotypy population: Relation to cognitive deficits.

Lesions to the ventral, but not the dorsal, medial prefrontal cortex enhance latent inhibition (2010)
Journal Article
George, D. N., Duffaud, A. M., Pothuizen, H. H., Haddon, J. E., & Killcross, S. (2010). Lesions to the ventral, but not the dorsal, medial prefrontal cortex enhance latent inhibition. The European journal of neuroscience, 31(8), 1474-1482. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2010.07178.x

The acquisition of a conditioned response to a stimulus when it is paired with a reinforcer is retarded if the stimulus has previously been repeatedly pre-exposed in the absence of the reinforcer. This effect, called latent inhibition, has previously... Read More about Lesions to the ventral, but not the dorsal, medial prefrontal cortex enhance latent inhibition.

Straw-men and selective citation are needed to argue that associative-link formation makes no contribution to human learning (2009)
Journal Article
Dwyer, D. M., Le Pelley, M. E., George, D. N., Haselgrove, M., & Honey, R. C. (2009). Straw-men and selective citation are needed to argue that associative-link formation makes no contribution to human learning. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 32(2), 206. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x09000946

Mitchell et al. contend that there is no need to posit a contribution based on the formation of associative links to human learning. In order to sustain this argument, they have ignored evidence which is difficult to explain with propositional accoun... Read More about Straw-men and selective citation are needed to argue that associative-link formation makes no contribution to human learning.

Contextual control of biconditional task performance: evidence for cue and response competition in rats (2008)
Journal Article
Haddon, J. . E., George, D. . N., & Killcross, S. (2008). Contextual control of biconditional task performance: evidence for cue and response competition in rats. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 61(9), 1307-1320. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210701515819

A novel paradigm is presented that was designed to mimic aspects of cue and response competition seen in humans in conflict procedures such as the Stroop task. Rats were trained simultaneously on two biconditional discrimination tasks, one auditory a... Read More about Contextual control of biconditional task performance: evidence for cue and response competition in rats.

The nature of discrimination learning in pigeons (2008)
Journal Article
Pearce, J. M., Esber, G. R., George, D. N., & Haselgrove, M. (2008). The nature of discrimination learning in pigeons. Learning and Behavior, 36(3), 188-199. https://doi.org/10.3758/lb.36.3.188

The results from five experiments are considered in relation to two of Spence's (1937, 1938) proposals concerning discrimination learning. In Experiments 1 and 2, we investigated whether his ideas about the interaction between excitatory and inhibito... Read More about The nature of discrimination learning in pigeons.

Optional-shift behaviour in rats: a novel procedure for assessing attentional processes in discrimination learning (2007)
Journal Article
Duffaud, A. M., Killcross, S., & George, D. N. (2007). Optional-shift behaviour in rats: a novel procedure for assessing attentional processes in discrimination learning. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 60(4), 534-542. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210601154487

A novel, optional-shift procedure was used to assess changes in the attention paid to stimuli that occur over the course of discrimination learning. In Phase 1, rats were trained on a conditional instrumental discrimination using audiovisual stimulus... Read More about Optional-shift behaviour in rats: a novel procedure for assessing attentional processes in discrimination learning.

The discrimination of structure: III. Representation of spatial relationships. (2005)
Journal Article
Haselgrove, M., George, D. N., & Pearce, J. M. (2005). The discrimination of structure: III. Representation of spatial relationships. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 31(4), 433-448. https://doi.org/10.1037/0097-7403.31.4.433

Pigeons received a discrimination in which the spatial relationship between 2 adjacent rectangles filled with different colors signaled the trial outcome. Test trials then involved the same rectangles separated horizontally by a gap. The tests in Exp... Read More about The discrimination of structure: III. Representation of spatial relationships..

The influence of hippocampal lesions on the discrimination of structure and on spatial memory in pigeons (Columba livia). (2005)
Journal Article
Pearce, J. M., George, D. N., Haselgrove, M., Erichsen, J. T., & Good, M. A. (2005). The influence of hippocampal lesions on the discrimination of structure and on spatial memory in pigeons (Columba livia). Behavioral Neuroscience, 119(5), 1316-1330. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7044.119.5.1316

Pigeons (Columba livia) were trained with a spatial structural discrimination, which was based on the spatial relationship among the components of a pattern, and a feature-binding structural discrimination, which was based on how different visual fea... Read More about The influence of hippocampal lesions on the discrimination of structure and on spatial memory in pigeons (Columba livia)..

Imitative learning of stimulus-response and response-outcome associations in pigeons (2005)
Journal Article
Saggerson, A. L., George, D. N., & Honey, R. C. (2005). Imitative learning of stimulus-response and response-outcome associations in pigeons. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 31(3), 289-300. https://doi.org/10.1037/0097-7403.31.3.289

A novel automated procedure was used to study imitative learning in pigeons. In Experiments 1 and 2, observer pigeons witnessed a demonstrator pigeon successfully performing an instrumental discrimination in which different discriminative stimuli ind... Read More about Imitative learning of stimulus-response and response-outcome associations in pigeons.

Representational blending in human conditional learning: Implications for associative theory (2003)
Journal Article
Hodder, K. I., George, D. N., Killcross, A. S., & Honey, R. C. (2003). Representational blending in human conditional learning: Implications for associative theory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section B. Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 56(2b), 223-238. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724990244000269

In two experiments, participants were presented with pictures of different foods (A, B, C, D, X, Y) and learned which combinations resulted in an allergic reaction in a fictitious patient, Mr X. In Problem 1, when A or B (but not C or D) was combined... Read More about Representational blending in human conditional learning: Implications for associative theory.

Virtual search asymmetry in pigeons. (2003)
Journal Article
Pearce, J. M., & George, D. N. (2003). Virtual search asymmetry in pigeons. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 29(2), 118-129. https://doi.org/10.1037/0097-7403.29.2.118

Pigeons received an odd-item search task that involved an array of 12 patterns containing 11 similar distractors and a single target. Pecks to the target resulted in the delivery of food. Accuracy was greater on trials when a distinctive feature was... Read More about Virtual search asymmetry in pigeons..

Discrimination of structure: II. Feature binding. (2003)
Journal Article
Pearce, J. M., & George, D. N. (2003). Discrimination of structure: II. Feature binding. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 29(2), 107-117. https://doi.org/10.1037/0097-7403.29.2.107

In 3 experiments, pigeons acquired a discrimination between patterns comprising the same features. Thus vertical green bars beside horizontal red bars might have signaled food, and horizontal green bars beside vertical red bars might have signaled no... Read More about Discrimination of structure: II. Feature binding..

The effects of using stimuli from three different dimensions on autoshaping with a complex negative patterning discrimination (2002)
Journal Article
Pearce, J. M., & George, D. N. (2002). The effects of using stimuli from three different dimensions on autoshaping with a complex negative patterning discrimination. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section B. Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55(4b), 349-364. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724990244000061

In two experiments pigeons received a complex negative patterning discrimination, using autoshaping, in which food was made available after three stimuli if they were presented alone (A, B, C), or in pairs (AB, AC, BC), but not when they were all pre... Read More about The effects of using stimuli from three different dimensions on autoshaping with a complex negative patterning discrimination.

Acquisition of superexcitatory properties by an irrelevant background stimulus (2002)
Journal Article
Williams, D. A., Mehta, R., Poworoznyk, T. M., Orihel, J. S., George, D. N., & Pearce, J. M. (2002). Acquisition of superexcitatory properties by an irrelevant background stimulus. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 28(3), 284-297. https://doi.org/10.1037//0097-7403.28.3.284

Six appetitive conditioning experiments with rats demonstrated that an irrelevant X accompanying a negative patterning discrimination (XA+, XB+, XAB-) acquires extraordinarily high levels of conditioned excitation. Responding to X was similar to that... Read More about Acquisition of superexcitatory properties by an irrelevant background stimulus.

Summation in autoshaping is affected by the similarity of the visual stimuli to the stimulation they replace. (2002)
Journal Article
Pearce, J. M., Redhead, E. S., & George, D. N. (2002). Summation in autoshaping is affected by the similarity of the visual stimuli to the stimulation they replace. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 28(2), 175-189. https://doi.org/10.1037/0097-7403.28.2.175

Pigeons received autoshaping with 2 stimuli, A and B, presented in adjacent regions on a television screen. Conditioning with each stimulus was therefore accompanied by stimulation that was displaced from the screen whenever the other stimulus was pr... Read More about Summation in autoshaping is affected by the similarity of the visual stimuli to the stimulation they replace..

Summation: further assessment of a configural theory (2002)
Journal Article
Pearce, J. M., George, D. N., & Aydin, A. (2002). Summation: further assessment of a configural theory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section B. Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55(1b), 61-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724990143000171

Rats received Pavlovian conditioning in which food was signalled by a visual stimulus, A+, an auditory stimulus, B+, and a compound composed of different visual and auditory stimuli, CD+. Test trials were then given with the compound AB. Experiments... Read More about Summation: further assessment of a configural theory.

Discrimination of structure: I. Implications for connectionist theories of discrimination learning. (2001)
Journal Article
George, D. N., Ward-Robinson, J., & Pearce, J. M. (2001). Discrimination of structure: I. Implications for connectionist theories of discrimination learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 27(3), 206-218. https://doi.org/10.1037/0097-7403.27.3.206

In each of 4 experiments animals were given a structural discrimination task that involved visual patterns composed of identical features, but the spatial relations among the features were different for reinforced and nonreinforced trials. In Experim... Read More about Discrimination of structure: I. Implications for connectionist theories of discrimination learning..