Occasion Setting in Humans: Norm or Exception?

Jessica C. Lee

University of Sydney

University of New South Wales

Julie Y.-L. Chow

University of New South Wales

Peter F. Lovibond

University of New South Wales

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Abstract

In this commentary, we propose that occasion setting in humans may be even more widespread than Leising and colleagues assume. In contrast to animal work, our research using the feature negative procedure (A+ AX−) reveals substantial individual differences in what people learn about the feature (X). We discuss findings showing that the majority of participants in our experiments learn something akin to occasion setting, and we present reasons for why this may be the case. We conclude that occasion setting may be the norm in humans because it allows existing learning to be preserved and allows for the possibility that the effect of a cue is unique to its accompanying target.

Keywords: occasion setting, feature negative, modulation, conditioned inhibition, prevention learning

Author Note: Jessica Lee, School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Camperdown, 2006, New South Wales, Australia

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jessica Lee at jessica.c.lee@sydney.edu.au.