Conditioned approach-withdrawal behavior and some signal-food relations in pigeons: Performance and positive vs. negative “associative strength“

Abstract

The location of pigeons was monitored during illuminations of a key (CS) presented in a positive, zero, or negative relationship with food for different groups of subjects. Birds approached a signal positively correlated with food and withdrew from a negatively correlated signal. When the probability of food in the absence of CS was increased from 0 to .2 while the probability of food during CS remained constant at .4, approach to CS declined. When the probability of food during CS increased from 0 to .2 while the probability of food in CS absence remained constant at .4, withdrawal from CS declined. No consistent approach or withdrawal appeared when the probability of food was the same (.4) during the presence and absence of CS. Our approach-withdrawal assay of positive and negative associative strength, which allows trial-by-trial measurement of overt performance during excitatory or inhibitory conditioning, was used to assess several predictions of the Rescorla-Wagner model of Pavlovian conditioning. © 1980, The Psychonomic Soceity, Inc.. All rights reserved.