Higher order conditioning of a taste aversion

Abstract

Two groups of rats each received 5 drops of NaCl solution from a dropper placed directly inside the mouth. The experimental group was then injected with lithium chloride to establish a conditioned taste aversion. The control group was injected 24 h later. After a recovery day the above procedures were repeated. On the next day both groups received 5 drops of a saccharin solution followed immediately by 5 drops of the NaCl solution. Subsequent preference tests established that the experimental group had learned an aversion to the saccharin solution as a result of its pairing with the NaCl solution which had previously been associated with poisoning. These results demonstrate that higher order conditioning of a taste aversion can be established using tastes as both the first-order stimulus and the second-order stimulus. © 1975 Psychonomic Society, Inc.