COMPONENT STRENGTH IN A COMPOUND CS AS A FUNCTION OF NUMBER OF ACQUISITION TRIALS

The effectiveness of components in a compound CS after varying amounts of avoidance training was assessed in both within- and between-Ss designs. 67 male albino New Zealand rabbits served as Ss. Both designs produced increasing differentiation between components and compound as a function of amount of training. The within-Ss design yielded the conventional form of differentiation, i.e., increasing effectiveness of the compound paralleling decreasing effectiveness of the components. Differentiation in the between-Ss design was affected by different rates of increases in effectiveness of both compound and components. Relevance to the concept of stimulus configuration is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.