Context is Learned, not Given

Context is Learned, not Given | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Context is Learned, not Given Juan Medina Peschken, Lukas Hahn, Roland Pusch, Jonas Rose This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5682968/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 May, 2025 Read the published version in Communications Psychology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The saying "context is everything" underscores the importance of interpreting things, be they quotes, events, actions, or stimuli, not in isolation but in the light of a bigger picture - their context. This is evident even in fundamental forms of learning such as extinction learning where, in contextual renewal, an extinguished response reoccurs if the context is changed. But what exactly is context? Is context given by stimuli with inherent properties making them context or, what are the circumstances that allow a stimulus to become “contextual”? Even though the answer may seem intuitively trivial, the literature only provides competing and vague definitions. Using a novel paradigm in pigeons, we directly assessed competing stimuli in their ability to induce contextual renewal during extinction learning. Furthermore, we controlled the timing of these stimuli and found it to be crucial; with the right contiguity, even small local stimuli resulted in the strongest contextual renewal. This result challenges definitions of context as ‘a backdrop where learning occurs’. Instead, we propose that context can be understood mechanistically as a learned stimulus property. Therefore, context truly is everything and anything. Biological sciences/Psychology Biological sciences/Zoology/Animal behaviour Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Learning and memory Extinction learning ABA renewal Context Pigeons Operant conditioning Associative learning Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 May, 2025 Read the published version in Communications Psychology → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5682968","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":398904019,"identity":"1b5fb67b-3d01-499d-b250-423aab3c5989","order_by":0,"name":"Juan Medina Peschken","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5480-1653","institution":"Ruhr-University Bochum, Neural Basis of Learning","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Juan","middleName":"Medina","lastName":"Peschken","suffix":""},{"id":398904020,"identity":"7ae7ca7d-dbea-4eda-936b-dc591c6055bd","order_by":1,"name":"Lukas Hahn","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lukas","middleName":"","lastName":"Hahn","suffix":""},{"id":398904021,"identity":"da315099-cdfe-415a-99d6-3855cee71d6f","order_by":2,"name":"Roland Pusch","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Roland","middleName":"","lastName":"Pusch","suffix":""},{"id":398904022,"identity":"711b1730-7635-483c-beb6-c6a5964d7324","order_by":3,"name":"Jonas Rose","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jonas","middleName":"","lastName":"Rose","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-12-20 10:11:08","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5682968/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5682968/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-025-00261-2","type":"published","date":"2025-05-24T04:00:00+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":83401008,"identity":"c5275108-baec-4642-acd1-3c342b98097a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-25 07:05:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":912860,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"ManuscriptCOMMSPSYCHOL240756.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5682968/v1_covered_6010dcc1-309f-4a27-b4fd-be99dfdc13de.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Context is Learned, not Given","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Extinction learning, ABA renewal, Context, Pigeons, Operant conditioning, Associative learning","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5682968/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5682968/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The saying \"context is everything\" underscores the importance of interpreting things, be they quotes, events, actions, or stimuli, not in isolation but in the light of a bigger picture - their context. 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