Increases in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) are proposed to initiate learning in a wide variety of species. Here, we measure changes in cAMP in the olfactory bulb prior to, during, and following a classically conditioned odor preference trial in rat pups. Measurements were taken up to the point of maximal CREB phosphorylation in olfactory…

Eighteen undergraduates participated in studies designed to examine the factors that produce transfer of contextual functions to novel stimuli in second-order conditional discriminations. In Study 1, participants selected comparison B1 given sample A1 and comparison B2 given sample A2 in a matching-to-sample procedure. Contextual stimuli X1 or X2…

This study used a learning-set task to assess the ability of four 10-month-old infants to acquire an object discrimination. (Author/JMB)

A review of Animal Discrimination Learning (Academic Press, 1969) edited by R. M. Gilbert and N. S. Sutherland. (CK)

The differential outcomes effect is a phenomenon where use of a choice-unique outcome for each type of correct choice in a conditional discrimination task increases rate of learning and overall accuracy, as compared to the traditional use of a single, common outcome for all types of correct choices. This phenomenon was successfully demonstrated…

Five experiments were performed to identify the basic Spanish colour categories (BCCs) and to locate them in the CIE L*u*v* space. The existence of 11 BCCs was confirmed using an elicited list task and a free monolexemic naming task. From the results provided by a synonymicity estimation task, it was concluded that, in Spanish, 2 synonymous terms…

Previous attempts to condition a 1-celled organism, paramecium, by either classical or instrumental procedures, have yielded equivocal results. The present experiments were designed to determine whether the use of positive reinforcement provided by DC electrical stimulation at the cathode, which had previously been shown to be attractive to…

Following training on an easy size discrimination, pigeons were matched on the basis of stimulus control by the positive stimulus following generalization tests. Three subjects were immediately retrained on a more difficult discrimination along the same dimension, while the remaining three subjects were retrained after a six-month delay. The…

To determine why the familiarization-novelty paradigm tends to underestimate the ability of infants under 4 months of age to detect unidimensional differences between stimuli, groups of 14- and 20-week-olds were given unidimensional discrimination problems of varying difficulty under conditions of brief and prolonged familiarization. (Author/JMB)

Forty-eight four-month-old infants were tested in a habituation-dishabituation discrimination paradigm using vertically symmetrical, horizontally symmetrical, and asymetrical forms. Results suggest that babies respond to "goodness of organization" rather than to details unique to particular symmetrical patterns. (Author/RH)

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate derived manding skills in 2 adults with severe developmental disabilities and language deficits by contriving transitive conditioned establishing operations. Specifically, we evaluated whether a history of reinforced conditional discrimination learning would ultimately result in a derived mand…