On Sun, 30 Oct 2005 07:05:17 -0800, Jim Dougan wrote:
>>[Earlier Mike Palij wrote:
>>It turns out that this is the article I and perhaps others had read:
>>
>>Seligman, M. E. P., & Hager, J. L. (Aug, 1972). Biological boundaries
>>of learning: The sauce-bernaise syndrome. Psychology Today, pp. 59-61,
>>84-87.
>
>As I mentioned yesterday, Seligman and Hager also published 
>a book (an edited volume) entitled "Biological Boundaries of 
>Learning" in 1972. My memory is that the "sauce bernaise 
>syndrome" is mentioned in that book. I was never a reader of 
>Psych Today 

I was young and foolish at the time.  Reading "Psychology Today"
was the least of my "sins" back then. ;-)

>but I did read the book. It is possible, of course, that 
>Seligman included his own Psych Today article in the book - 
>though I find that dolubtful...

I don't have a copy of the book available but looking at 
the reprint of the article in the reader "The Functional Mind",
it looks like the article may have been an overview of the
book and, perhaps, prepared separately from the book. 
Re-reading the article now I can see how it makes some clear 
and strong points about Seligman's theory of biological 
preparedness and the "sauce bearnaise syndrome" which would 
explain why it was included in the reader instead of one 
of Seligman's other papers on these points.  

>For clarification, remember that the "Sauce Bernaise Syndrome" is 
>not the same thing as the "Garcia Effect."
>
>The Garcia Effect is an apparent preparedness to make associations 
>between sickness and gustatory stimuli as compared to sickness and 
>audio/visual stimuli.
>
>The Sauce Bernaise Syndrome is the tendency to associate the most 
>novel gustatory stimulus (the sauce bernaise) with the sickness, 
>rather than with the actual cause of the sickness.

Although I have heard this distinction made, Seligman doesn't make it
in this article. He actually uses the Garcia effect as "the" explanation:
*************************
The same week that Seligman was undergoing the agonies of the 
stomach flu, John Garcia...published the first of a series of 
articles...[that] are now recognized as perhaps the most important 
studies of animal learning of the decade.  Among their consequences 
was that they explained the "sauce-Bearnaise" phenomenon.

Garcia and Robert A. Koelling confronted their rats with a 
sweet-tasting liquid and a light-sound stimulus, both paired 
with radiation sickness -- a malaise characterized by stomach 
upset.  But only taste, not the bright light or loud sound,
became unpleasant to the rats.  In the complementary experiment,
they paired the sweet taste and the light-sound stimuli with
electric shock.  This time, the rats associated the light-sound
combination, not the tast, with the shock.
***************************

The "novel taste" definition of "sauce-bearnaise" syndrome, I
assume, may have developed through subsequent studies on overshadowing
and latent inhibition?  Does anyone know when the "novel taste"
definition was first used?

-Mike Palij
New York University
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

>Although both phenomena involve taste aversion learning, they should 
>both be considered "sub phenomena" within the taste aversion literature.
>
>-- Jim



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