Temporal contiguity determines overshadowing and potentiation of human Action-Outcome performance

Temporal contiguity determines overshadowing and potentiation of human Action-Outcome performance

Three experiments ( n = 81, n = 81, n = 82, respectively) explored how temporal contiguity influences Action-Outcome learning, assessing whether an intervening signal competed, facilitated, or had no effect on performance and causal attribution in undergraduate participants. Across experiments, we o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychonomic bulletin & review Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 350 - 361
Main Authors: Alcalá, José A., Kirkden, Richard D., Bray, Jess, Prados, José, Urcelay, Gonzalo P.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer US 01-02-2023
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Association Learning
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Brief Report
Cognitive Psychology
Competition
Conditioning, Classical
Cues
Data collection
Experiments
Humans
Laboratories
Learning
Psychology
Potentiation
Temporal contiguity
Overshadowing
Action-outcome
Cue competition
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Summary:Three experiments ( n = 81, n = 81, n = 82, respectively) explored how temporal contiguity influences Action-Outcome learning, assessing whether an intervening signal competed, facilitated, or had no effect on performance and causal attribution in undergraduate participants. Across experiments, we observed competition and facilitation as a function of the temporal contiguity between Action and Outcome. When there was a strong temporal relationship between Action and Outcome, the signal competed with the action, hindering instrumental performance but not causal attribution (Experiments 1 and 3 ). However, with weak temporal contiguity, the same signal facilitated both instrumental performance and causal attribution (Experiments 1 and 2 ). Finally, the physical intensity of the signal determined the magnitude of competition. As anticipated by associative learning models, a more salient signal attenuated to a greater extent instrumental performance (Experiment 3 ). These results are discussed by reference to a recent adaptation of the configural theory of learning.
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ISSN:1069-9384
1531-5320
1531-5320
DOI:10.3758/s13423-022-02155-4