Almond and peppermint extracts were combined with salt and citric acid
as cues in conditioned flavor preference conditioning. In Experiment
1, extracts overshadowed tastes, although tastes and extracts conditio
ned equally well when presented in isolation. In Experiments 2 and 3,
tastes and extracts were conditioned in isolation prior to conditionin
g of a taste/extract compound. The conditioning history of the tastes
and extracts did not affect the overshadowing of taste by extract. The
results of Experiment 4 showed that rats could learn to discriminate
between a taste and extract presented in isolation vs. the taste/extra
ct compound. Thus, extracts do not interfere with sensing the tastes.
We suggest that a taste/extract compound produces a configural stimulu
s that is more characteristic of the extract than the taste.