CLASSICAL-CONDITIONING OF THE RABBIT NICTITATING-MEMBRANE RESPONSE CAN BE FAST OR SLOW - IMPLICATIONS FOR LENNARTZ AND WEINBERGER (1992) 2-FACTOR THEORY
Ej. Kehoe et M. Macrae, CLASSICAL-CONDITIONING OF THE RABBIT NICTITATING-MEMBRANE RESPONSE CAN BE FAST OR SLOW - IMPLICATIONS FOR LENNARTZ AND WEINBERGER (1992) 2-FACTOR THEORY, Psychobiology, 22(1), 1994, pp. 1-4
Classical conditioning of the rabbit's nictitating membrane (NM) respo
nse usually requires several dozen trials for the first conditioned re
sponse (CR) to appear. However, as the number of trials is reduced to
one per session, the rate of acquisition increases progressively, and
the first CR appears in less than a dozen trials. This large and syste
matic variation in the rate of conditioning challenges recent conclusi
ons by Lennartz and Weinberger (1992). They use the rabbit NM preparat
ion as an example of a slow-conditioning, ''specific'' system that is
distinct from a fast-conditioning, ''nonspecific'' system, such as hea
rt rate.