THE 2-TEST STRATEGY IN THE STUDY OF INHIBITORY CONDITIONING

It is commonly believed that both a summation test and a retardation t est should be used to determine whether a stimulus becomes inhibitory in consequence of some specified treatment, because the 2 tests togeth er rule out alternative interpretations. Depending, however, on the ch oice of control treatments, a single test may provide credible evidenc e of inhibition or both together may not. A comprehensive review of th e 2-test literature shows that suitable controls have been used only r arely and that compelling evidence of inhibition is correspondingly ra re. The only such evidence now available is provided by retardation te sts in experiments with some variation of A+/AB- training as the putat ively inhibitory treatment.