Bending rules: the shape of the perceptual generalisation gradient is sensitive to inference rules

ABSTRACT

Generalising what is learned about one stimulus to other but perceptually related stimuli is a basic behavioural phenomenon. We evaluated whether a rule learning mechanism may serve to explain such generalisation. To this end, we assessed whether inference rules communicated through verbal instructions affect generalisation. Expectancy ratings, but not valence ratings, proved sensitive to this manipulation. In addition to revealing a role for inference rules in generalisation, our study has clinical implications as well. More specifically, we argue that targeting inference rules might prove to be an effective strategy to affect the excessive generalisation that is often observed in psychopathology.

KEYWORDS:

• Associative learning
• aversive learning
• generalisation
• cognitive processes
• rule learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCiD

Yannick Boddez http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8067-5969

Marc Patrick Bennett http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7217-4059

Tom Beckers http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9581-1505

Notes

1. That is, we define generalization effects as a subset of learning effects, which are themselves defined as changes in behaviour that result from regularities in the environment (for an extensive discussion see De Houwer et al., 2013). More specifically, we therefore define a generalization effect as a change in behaviour due to regularities in the environment in which the generalization stimulus (i.e. the antecedent or test stimulus) was not featured.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Belgian Science Policy Office [grant number Grant P7/33]; KU Leuven Program Funding [grant number PF/10/005].