Temporal contiguity determines overshadowing and potentiation of human Action-Outcome performance

• Published in: Psychonomic bulletin & review Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 350 - 361
• Main Authors: Alcalá, José A., Kirkden, Richard D., Bray, Jess, Prados, José, Urcelay, Gonzalo P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Association Learning; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Brief Report; Cognitive Psychology; Competition; Conditioning, Classical; Cues; Data collection; Experiments; Humans; Laboratories; Learning; Psychology; Potentiation; Temporal contiguity; Overshadowing; Action-outcome; Cue competition
• ISSN: 1069-9384; 1531-5320; 1531-5320
• DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02155-4

Three experiments ( n = 81, n = 81, n = 82, respectively) explored how temporal contiguity influences Action-Outcome learning, assessing whether an intervening signal competed, facilitated, or had no effect on performance and causal attribution in undergraduate participants. Across experiments, we observed competition and facilitation as a function of the temporal contiguity between Action and Outcome. When there was a strong temporal relationship between Action and Outcome, the signal competed with the action, hindering instrumental performance but not causal attribution (Experiments 1 and 3 ). However, with weak temporal contiguity, the same signal facilitated both instrumental performance and causal attribution (Experiments 1 and 2 ). Finally, the physical intensity of the signal determined the magnitude of competition. As anticipated by associative learning models, a more salient signal attenuated to a greater extent instrumental performance (Experiment 3 ). These results are discussed by reference to a recent adaptation of the configural theory of learning.