Variations in selective and nonselective prediction error with the negative dimension of schizotypy

Two human associative-learning experiments investigated the relationship between the negative dimension of schizotypy and selective and nonselective prediction-error learning. Experiment 1 demonstrates that individuals low, but not high, on the introvertive anhedonia dimension of schizotypy demonstrate Kamin blocking, which has been taken to reflect the operation of selective learning (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972). In complement, Experiment 2 demonstrates that individuals high, but not low, on the same dimension demonstrate asymmetrical learning about the components of a compound stimulus that differ in their associative history, which has been suggested to reflect the operation of nonselective learning (Rescorla, 2000). The implications of this double dissociation for understanding the nature of the cognitive deficit in schizophrenia and for theories of learning are considered.