Orienting response reinstatement and dishabituation: Effects of substituting, adding, and deleting components of nonsignificant stimuli

The prediction that orienting response (OR) reinstatement is negatively rel ated to the measure of common features, shared by the stimulus input and re presentations of preceding events, and positively related to the measures o f their distinctive features, was examined. A nonsignificant test stimulus (TS) was presented after nine repetitions of a standard stimulus (SS), foll owed by two additional repetitions of SS. TS was created by either substitu ting 0, 1, or 2 components of SS (Experiment 1), or by either adding or del eting 0, 1. or 2 components of SS (Experiment 2). Skin conductance changes to TS (OR reinstatement) and the subsequent SS (dishabituation) were used a s dependent measures. The results of Experiment supported the prediction th at substituting components of neutral stimuli affects OR reinstatement, wit h a larger effect for between-categories than within-categories substitutio n. Experiment 2 demonstrated that adding and deleting components similarly affects: OR reinstatement.