TASTE-POTENTIATED COLOR AVERSIONS IN PIGEONS - EXAMINATION OF CS PREEXPOSURE AND SUBSEQUENT EFFECTS ON POSTCONDITIONING EXTINCTION OF THE TASTE-AVERSION
Te. Thiele et J. Frieman, TASTE-POTENTIATED COLOR AVERSIONS IN PIGEONS - EXAMINATION OF CS PREEXPOSURE AND SUBSEQUENT EFFECTS ON POSTCONDITIONING EXTINCTION OF THE TASTE-AVERSION, Animal learning & behavior, 22(4), 1994, pp. 436-441
In the present study, we investigated the mechanisms of potentiation u
sing pigeons as subjects. Half the groups were given unreinforced pree
xposures to the CS on 2 consecutive days before aversion training. Aft
er training, the taste aversion was extinguished in some of the groups
conditioned with a colored, tasty compound. Postconditioning extincti
on of the taste aversion was found to attenuate potentiated color aver
sions. This was the case for the subjects that both were and were not
preexposed to the CS. These results lend support to the summation theo
ry of potentiation (Durlach and Rescorla, 1980) and weaken the claim t
hat CS preexposures are necessary for obtaining such support. Alternat
ive accounts of the data are discussed.