Relative validity of contextual and discrete cues

Contextual conditioning during relative validity training was explored in 3 experiments that used an appetitive Pavlovian conditioning preparation wit h rats. Magazine entries were the conditioned response. In Experiment 1, tr ue-discrimination (TD: AX(+), BX-) training generated weaker conditioning o f X than did pseudodiscrimination (PD: AX(+/-), BX+/-) training. The contex t showed a similar relative validity effect. Also, both PD training and sim ple partial reinforcement (X+/-) reduced contextual conditioning more than did unsignaled food, a demonstration of relative validity using partial rei nforcement. Experiments 2 and 3 used within-subject and between-subjects de signs, respectively, and showed that relative validity was determined by th e summation of differences in conditioning to both the common element (X) a nd the context. Our results are consistent with an attentional model or wit h a computational comparator model but not with the Rescorla-Wagner (R. A. Rescorla & A. R. Wagner, 1972) model.