Inhibitory associations between S and R in extinction

Abstract

The associative changes that occur in extinction were investigated in four instrumental learning experiments. Experiment 1 used transfer based on a shared outcome to detect the continued presence of response-outcome (R-O) and stimulus-outcome (S-O) associations after a response had been nonreinforced in the presence of its controlling stimulus. Experiments 2-4 found that extinction resulted in the learning not to make a particular response in the presence of a particular stimulus, despite those continued R-0 and S-0 associations. These results suggest that extinction may superimpose upon those original outcome associations an inhibitory S-R association. © 1993 Psychonomic Society, Inc.