The effect of overtraining on transfer between tasks involving the same stimulus dimension

Two experiments are reported in which transfer effects between two discrimination tasks are examined following differing amounts of training on the first task. The two tasks were a conditional (successive) discrimination involving black/white cues, and a simultaneous brightness discrimination involving the same black/white cues.

In Experiment I the conditional task was presented first and in Experiment II the simultaneous task was presented first. The results of Experiment I show overall negative transfer which is not directly related to the amount of training. The results of Experiment II, however, reveal positive transfer although again the amount of training produced no significant effect. These seemingly discrepant findings are explained in terms of the difficulty of the conditional task and the development of rigid position stereotypes. It is argued that the concept of frustration-instigated behaviour is necessary to account for the results.