Some determinants of response summation

Abstract

Response summation in pigeons was examined in four experiments. In Experiment 1, summation was not found with a compound of two visual stimuli on a television screen after they had individually been used for instrumental conditioning. In this experiment, the training and test trials were separated by an interval during which the television screen was dark. Summation was found in Experiment 2 for which the television screen was permanently white during the interval between trials and in the region that was not occupied by the experimental stimuli. These results were replicated using a within- subject design (Experiment 3) and autoshaping (Experiment 4). Experiment 2 also revealed summation with compounds of auditory and visual stimuli, but not with compounds of two auditory stimuli or two diffuse lights. The results can be explained by a variety of theories of learning, if they take account of generalization between the stimuli.