NSF Award
9320430
This research will examine the factors which translate what one knows into what one does. When humans or animals learn something there are times when that learning is turned into action and times when it is not. However, when learning is not acted upon it does not mean that the knowledge originally has been lost. This research uses a simple animal model of this type of learning situation to examine the status of learning as the performance based on that learning changes. Pigeons are trained to associate a light with the delivery of food. The learning of this association is evidenced by the pigeons' pecking at the light. It is known that if the relationship between the light and the food delivery is changed, the pigeons may stop pecking at the light. But it is also known that this cessation of responding does not mean that the pigeons "forgot" that the light and the food are associated. Under some conditions the pigeons will start pecking the light once again. This means that the pecking evoked by the light is not a good indicator of the status of the pigeons' knowledge about the light. Therefore, the research to be conducted uses two methods of Pavlovian conditioning, blocking tests and second order conditioning tests, to assess the status of associations (like that between the light and food) independently of responding. The use of these procedures will help the PI to understand the conditions under which associations are acted upon and the conditions under which knowledge about a particular association can be changed. Simple associations are the building blocks of learning. Therefore, to gain a fuller understanding of behavior, whether animal or human, one needs a clearer understanding of the determinants of basic learning and performance processes. The research to be conducted under this grant aims to broaden the understanding of behavior by examining the relationship between what one knows and what one does.
