NEGATIVE PRIMING IN ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING - EVIDENCE FROM A SERIAL-HABITUATION PROCEDURE

Rats received exposure to two serial compounds (A-X and B-Y) comprisin g auditory stimuli (A and B) followed by localized visual stimuli (X a nd Y). A and B came to elicit responses that reflected the location of X and Y (Experiment 1). The orienting response (OR) elicited by X and Y declined during exposure to the A-X and B-Y compounds and was resto red on trials when A preceded Y, and B preceded X (Experiments 2 and 3 ). These results, observed with use of relatively neutral stimuli, par allel those observed during Pavlovian conditioning and provide support for A. R. Wagner's (1981) account of associative learning.