LATENT INHIBITION OF A CS DURING CS-US PAIRINGS

In each of 3 experiments male hooded rats (N = 72) were trained by the conditioned-emotional-response technique with a CS predicting a relatively weak shock, the UCS. In the 2nd stage of training the intensity of the shock was increased, and it was found that Ss for whom the same CS was used in both stages acquired further suppression less readily than Ss that experienced a new CS in the 2nd stage. The implication for theories of attention and for theories of habituation is discussed. It is suggested that associations formed by the test CS during the 1st stage of training reduce the readiness of the stimulus to enter into new associations, either because an association between the stimulus and the context reduces further processing of the stimulus or because the association between the test stimulus and the weak shock attenuates the formation of an association with the stronger shock. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1979 American Psychological Association.