Latent Inhibition as a Means of Behavior Prophylaxis

The evidence for the utility of a latent inhibition procedure, namely, nonreinforced preexposure of the to-be conditioned stimuli, for behavioral prophylaxis, is examined The phenomenon has wide representation in a variety of species and learning tasks. Although it is only found under very restricted conditions in adult human Ss, it is more easily demonstrated in children. It is concluded that there may indeed be a useful clinical application of latent inhibition but additional research is required both to validate the approach and to identify critical parameters.