Primary stimulus generalization of the GSR under two conditions.

Abstract

In Expt. 1, 72 Ss were given 16 pairing of tone and shock, and were then extinguished to 1 of 3 tones. These tones were either the same one on which training was given or tones which differed from it by 25 or 50 jnd. There were 24 Ss in each extinction group, and each S was extinguished to only 1 tone. In Expt. 2, 12 non-reinforced clicks were presented during the training, but in all other aspects the exptl. was identical with Expt. 1. It was concluded that the generalization gradient as found in Expt. 1 is bell-shaped rather than concave upward and that it is generated by the process of extinction. In Expt. 2 no gradient was found. This fact was interpreted in terms of the concept of partial reinforcement.