Pavlovian backward conditioned inhibition in humans: summation and retardation tests

Abstract

Two experiments using human participants investigated whether a Pavlovian backward inhibitory treatment (nonreinforced trials in phase 1 followed by reinforced trials in phase 2; i.e., AX- followed by A+) produces a stimulus which can pass summation and retardation tests for inhibition. The rationale for conducting these experiments was that previous demonstrations of Pavlovian backward inhibition informed participants about the nature of the outcome before starting the experiment. According to some theoretical views, this is a potential confound. In the present experiments we used a predictive task in which participants had no knowledge about the outcome until phase 2, when reinforcement occurred. The results of Experiment 1 (summation test) and Experiment 2 (retardation test) provide a clear demonstration of backward conditioned inhibition.