The differential outcomes effect in pigeons is not reduced by eliminating response-outcome associations: Support for a two-process account

Animals perform two-choice conditional discriminations at a higher level if each of the two correct responses to the comparison stimuli is reinforced with a different outcome. According to the two-process view, this differential outcomes effect (DOE) results from the response-cuing function of expectancies generated by the conditional stimuli (i.e., samples). According to the shared-outcomes view, differential response-outcome associations contribute to the effect. In the present research, pigeons that were trained with differential outcomes associated with the samples, butnot with the comparisons, revealed a DOE during delay testing that was comparable to that obtained in a “true” differential-outcomes group. Thus, a two-process interpretation of the DOE was supported. In the second experiment, transfer testing with sample replacement confirmed these findings and, in addition, provided evidence that differential sample behaviors exerted some control over zero-delayed choice.