Latency of response in a choice discrimination.

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Abstract
Four white rats were trained to a stable latency level for a black and white discrimination, using the Lashley jumping technique. Training was so gradual that no errors occurred. The rats were then tested on pairs of white, black, and 3 grays evenly spaced along the brightness continuum in terms of equal-appearing intervals (human) and log relative brightness. When plotted against the intervals, the log latencies of the test jumps yielded a straight line, which is believed to be the primary generalization gradient. In a second experiment additional training on light-gray vs. dark-gray changed the shape of the gradient, which should now be considered a gradient of response strength. The results are explained in terms of the single-stimulus type of discrimination, without recourse to the assumption of comparison between stimuli. Vicarious Trial and Error roughly parallels latency, and seems to occur when neither stimulus has an excitatory value that is high in relation to the tendency not-to-jump.

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