Summation In Autoshaping With Short-Duration And Long-Duration Stimuli

Five autoshaping experiments with pigeons examined the effects of presenting in compound two stimuli that had individually been paired with food. The rate of responding during the compound was the same as for the individual stimuli when the stimulus duration was 10 sec. When the duration of the stimuli was 30 sec, the compound elicited a higher response rate than its components. This enhanced rate of responding during the compound was evident only for the initial portion of each trial. Moreover, the enhanced rate of responding was no greater than for a compound composed of an excitatory and a neutral element. These results present difficulties for both elemental and configural theories of conditioning.