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Mechanisms of Contextual Control when Contexts are Informative to Solve the Task

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Samuel P. León ,
A. Matías Gámez  and
Juan M. Rosas
Samuel P. León*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Jaén (Spain)
A. Matías Gámez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Jaén (Spain)
Juan M. Rosas
Affiliation:
Universidad de Jaén (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Samuel Parra León. Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n. 23071 Jaén (Spain). E-mail: sparra@ujaen.es
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Abstract

An experiment was conducted using a human instrumental learning task with the goal of evaluating the mechanisms underlying the deleterious effect of context-switching on responding to an unambiguous stimulus when contexts are informative to solve the task. Participants were trained in a context-based reversal discrimination in which two discriminative stimuli (X and Y) interchange their meaning across contexts A and B. In context A, discriminative stimulus Z consistently announced that the relationship between a specific instrumental response (R1) and a specific outcome (O1) was in effect. Performance in the presence of stimulus Z was equally deteriorated when the test was conducted outside the training context, regardless of whether the test context was familiar (context B) or new (context C). This result is consistent with the idea that participants code all the information presented in an informative context as context-specific with the context playing a role akin to an occasion setter.

Se realizó un experimento en condicionamiento instrumental humano con el objetivo de evaluar los mecanismos subyacentes al efecto de cambio de contexto sobre una clave de significado no ambiguo cuando los contextos son informativos para solucionar la tarea. Se entrenó a los participantes en una discriminación inversa basada en el contexto en la que debían discriminar entre dos claves (X e Y) que intercambiaban sus significados entre los contextos A y B. En el contexto A se presentó además el estímulo discriminativo Z anunciando consistentemente una relación entre una respuesta instrumental concreta (R1) y una consecuencia determinada (O1). La respuesta en presencia de la clave Z durante la prueba empeoró cuando la prueba se realizó fuera del contexto de entrenamiento, independientemente de si el contexto de prueba era un contexto familiar para el participante (contexto B) o un contexto nuevo (contexto C). Estos resultados son consistentes con la idea de que los participantes codifican toda la información presentada en contextos informativos como dependiente de contexto, con el contexto jugando un papel similar al de un estímulo modulador.

Keywords

attentioncontext-switch effectdiscriminationhuman beingsinstrumental learningatenciónefecto de cambio de contextodiscriminaciónseres humanosaprendizaje instrumental
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , March 2012 , pp. 10 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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