The effect of prolonged exposure to visually presented patterns on learning to discriminate them.

Abstract

Experimental and control albino rats were raised from birth in identical cages surrounded by white cardboard, but experimental animals had black metal triangles and circles on the walls of the cages. At 90 days of age both groups were given a circle-triangle discrimination problem. In 15 days of training, 15 of 18 experimental animals learned the discrimination while only 1 of 11 control animals did. Visual experience with the patterns to be discriminated, with no known differential reward, facilitated discrimination learning.