Relative validity effects with either one or two more valid cues in Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning

Two experiments investigated the relative validity effect with either 1 or 2 continuously reinforced cues in Wistar rats using appetitive Pavlovian an d instrumental preparations. Discrimination training involved 3 compound cu es containing a common element (1AX: 1BX: 2CX). In the first true-discrimin ation group (TD-1), CX was followed by food, but AX and EX were not. In the second true-discrimination group (TD-2), AX and EX but not CX were followe d by food. In the third, pseudodiscrimination group (PD), food followed 50% of each compound. Compared with the PD group, there were lower levels of r esponding to X in Groups TD-1 and TD-2, which did not differ. That is, both To treatments showed equivalent relative validity effects. There was evide nce for a relative validity effect on the context. The Rescorla-Wagner mode l incorrectly predicts a smaller relative validity effect after the TD-2 th an the TD-1 treatment. Comparator theory predicts these results.