Effects of compound or element preexposure on compound flavor aversion conditioning

Two experiments with rat subjects examined conditioning of an aversion to a compound flavor stimulus after preexposing the compound, its constituent elements, or no explicit flavor stimulus. Experiment 1 used a short-term procedure in which preexposure and conditioning treatments occurred on the same day; Experiment 2 used a long-term procedure in which more extensive preexposure was administered several days before conditioning. In both experiments, preexposure of the elements slowed conditioning to the compound more than did preexposure of the compound itself. These effects were apparently not mediated by changes in pseudoconditioned or neophobic responses. The results were related to Lubow's conditioned attention theory of stimulus preexposure effects.