Effects of feedback for correct or incorrect matching responses in the acquisition and transfer of conditional discriminations

Abstract

The effects of feedback for correct or incorrect matching responses upon the acquisition and transfer of conditional discriminations were evaluated. In Experiment 1 a first-order matching-to-sample task was used, while in Experiment 2 a second-order task was used. In both experiments feedback for both correct and incorrect matching responses produced the highest number of correct responses in training as well as in transfer test, while feedback for incorrect matching responses produced a higher number of correct responses than feedback for correct matching responses. These results are discussed in relation to similar experiments, highlighting the functional role of the omission of feedback.