Student: Richard Baines, Lisa Chervenak, Jessica Rosselli and Justin Schiavone
Mentor: Professor Nina Tarner
Major: Psychology
The present study was conducted to explore whether an odor context could aid in establishing the spontaneous recovery of an extinguished flavor preference. Twenty-four male, Long-Evans rats were randomly assigned to two groups and given either grape or cherry Kool-Aid mixed with either sucrose or saccharin. The rats were conditioned to prefer the high calorie solution in either a Vick's Vapor Rub-scented context or a Vinegar-scented context. After conditioning, the rats extinguished the preferred flavor in the opposite context of conditioning and then for spontaneous recovery they were returned to the original conditioning context. While the hypothesis was not supported, the present study is still considered important in that it is one of the few studies ever to be conducted on the effects of odor on flavor preferences.
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