EFFECTS OF INTERSTIMULUS INTERVAL AND DISCRIMINATION LEARNING IN EYELID CONDITIONING USING BETWEEN- AND WITHIN-SS DESIGNS

80 HUMAN SS WERE CONDITIONED, 1/2 WITH A BETWEEN-SS PROCEDURE AND 1/2 WITH A WITHIN-SS PROCEDURE IN AN EYELID-CONDITIONING EXPERIMENT WHERE THE INTERSTIMULUS INTERVAL (ISI) WAS EITHER .5 OR 1.2 SEC. OVERALL LEVEL OF CONDITIONING WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN BETWEEN-SS GROUPS. IN THE WITHIN-SS PROCEDURE, CONDITIONING WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INFERIOR AT THE .5-SEC ISI. THIS LOWERED LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THE FACT THAT SS IN THE WITHIN-SS DESIGN MADE A TYPE OF DISCRIMINATION THAT LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INHIBITORY PROCESS. DATA ON GENERALIZATION AND DISCRIMINATION OBTAINED FROM THE SAME SS DURING AND FOLLOWING ACQUISITION LENT DETAILED SUPPORT TO THIS INTERPRETATION. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1968 American Psychological Association.