Competition between outcomes

Citation
Rr. Miller et H. Matute, Competition between outcomes, PSYCHOL SCI, 9(2), 1998, pp. 146-149
Citations number
31
Categorie Soggetti
Psycology
Journal title
PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
ISSN journal
09567976 → ACNP
Volume
9
Issue
2
Year of publication
1998
Pages
146 - 149
Database
ISI
SICI code
0956-7976(199803)9:2<146:CBO>2.0.ZU;2-1
Abstract
In both Pavlovian conditioning and human causal judgment, competition betwe en cues is well known to occur when multiple cues are presented in compound and followed by an outcome. More questionable is the occurrence of competi tion between outcomes when a single cue is followed by multiple outcomes pr esented in compound. In the experiment reported here, we demonstrated block ing (a type of stimulus competition) between outcomes. When the cue predict ed one outcome, its ability to predict a second outcome that was presented in compound with the first outcome was reduced. The procedure minimized the likelihood that the observed competition between outcomes arose from selec tive attention. The competition between outcomes that we observed is proble matic for contemporary theories of learning.