Records |
Author |
Pepperberg, I.M. |
Title |
In search of king Solomon's ring: cognitive and communicative studies of Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Brain, behavior and evolution |
Abbreviated Journal |
Brain Behav Evol |
Volume |
59 |
Issue |
1-2 |
Pages |
54-67 |
Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; Attention/physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Cues; Form Perception/physiology; Humans; Intelligence; Learning/physiology; Male; Models, Psychological; Parrots/*physiology; Psychomotor Performance/physiology; Reward; Social Behavior |
Abstract |
During the past 24 years, I have used a modeling technique (M/R procedure) to train Grey parrots to use an allospecific code (English speech) referentially; I then use the code to test their cognitive abilities. The oldest bird, Alex, labels more than 50 different objects, 7 colors, 5 shapes, quantities to 6, 3 categories (color, shape, material) and uses 'no', 'come here', wanna go X' and 'want Y' (X and Y are appropriate location or item labels). He combines labels to identify, request, comment upon or refuse more than 100 items and to alter his environment. He processes queries to judge category, relative size, quantity, presence or absence of similarity/difference in attributes, and show label comprehension. He semantically separates labeling from requesting. He thus exhibits capacities once presumed limited to humans or nonhuman primates. Studies on this and other Greys show that parrots given training that lacks some aspect of input present in M/R protocols (reference, functionality, social interaction) fail to acquire referential English speech. Examining how input affects the extent to which parrots acquire an allospecific code may elucidate mechanisms of other forms of exceptional learning: learning unlikely in the normal course of development but that can occur under certain conditions. |
Address |
The MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Mass. 02139, USA. impepper@media.mit.edu |
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0006-8977 |
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PMID:12097860 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
579 |
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Author |
Fiset, S.; Landry, F.; Ouellette, M. |
Title |
Egocentric search for disappearing objects in domestic dogs: evidence for a geometric hypothesis of direction |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
1-12 |
Keywords |
Animals; Dogs/*psychology; Female; Form Perception; Male; Mental Recall; *Motion Perception; Orientation; Problem Solving; *Space Perception |
Abstract |
In several species, the ability to locate a disappearing object is an adaptive component of predatory and social behaviour. In domestic dogs, spatial memory for hidden objects is primarily based on an egocentric frame of reference. We investigated the geometric components of egocentric spatial information used by domestic dogs to locate an object they saw move and disappear. In experiment 1, the distance and the direction between the position of the animal and the hiding location were put in conflict. Results showed that the dogs primarily used the directional information between their own spatial coordinates and the target position. In experiment 2, the accuracy of the dogs in finding a hidden object by using directional information was estimated by manipulating the angular deviation between adjacent hiding locations and the position of the animal. Four angular deviations were tested: 5, 7.5, 10 and 15 degrees . Results showed that the performance of the dogs decreased as a function of the angular deviations but it clearly remained well above chance, revealing that the representation of the dogs for direction is precise. In the discussion, we examine how and why domestic dogs determine the direction in which they saw an object disappear. |
Address |
Secteur Sciences Humaines, Universite de Moncton, Campus d'Edmundston, Edmundston, New-Brunswick, Canada E3V 2S8. sfiset@umce.ca |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:15750805 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2489 |
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Author |
Goto, K.; Wills, A.J.; Lea, S.E.G. |
Title |
Global-feature classification can be acquired more rapidly than local-feature classification in both humans and pigeons |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
7 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
109-113 |
Keywords |
Adult; Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; *Classification; Columbidae/*physiology; *Discrimination Learning; Form Perception; Humans; *Mental Processes; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; Species Specificity |
Abstract |
When humans process visual stimuli, global information often takes precedence over local information. In contrast, some recent studies have pointed to a local precedence effect in both pigeons and nonhuman primates. In the experiment reported here, we compared the speed of acquisition of two different categorizations of the same four geometric figures. One categorization was on the basis of a local feature, the other on the basis of a readily apparent global feature. For both humans and pigeons, the global-feature categorization was acquired more rapidly. This result reinforces the conclusion that local information does not always take precedence over global information in nonhuman animals. |
Address |
School of Psychology, Washington Singer Laboratories, University of Exeter, EX4 4QG, Exeter, UK. K.Goto@exeter.ac.uk |
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1435-9448 |
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Notes |
PMID:15069610 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2530 |
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Author |
Pepperberg, I.M.; Brezinsky, M.V. |
Title |
Acquisition of a relative class concept by an African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus): discriminations based on relative size |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1991 |
Publication |
Journal of Comparative Psychology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
Volume |
105 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
286-294 |
Keywords |
Animals; Aptitude; *Concept Formation; *Discrimination Learning; Form Perception; Male; Mental Recall; *Parrots; *Size Perception; Vocalization, Animal |
Abstract |
We report that an African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus), Alex, responds to stimuli on a relative basis. Previous laboratory studies with artificial stimuli (such as pure tones) suggest that birds make relational responses as a secondary strategy, only after they have acquired information about the absolute values of the stimuli. Alex, however, after learning to respond to a small set of exemplars on the basis of relative size, transferred this behavior to novel situations that did not provide specific information about the absolute values of the stimuli. He responded to vocal questions about which was the larger or smaller exemplar by vocally labeling its color or material, and he responded “none” if the exemplars did not differ in size. His overall accuracy was 78.7%. |
Address |
Northwestern University |
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Washington, D.C. : 1983 |
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English |
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0735-7036 |
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Notes |
PMID:1935007 |
Approved |
yes |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
3610 |
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Author |
McGonigle, B.; Chalmers, M.; Dickinson, A. |
Title |
Concurrent disjoint and reciprocal classification by Cebus apella in seriation tasks: evidence for hierarchical organization |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
6 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
185-197 |
Keywords |
Animals; Cebus/*physiology; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Female; Form Perception/*physiology; Male; *Task Performance and Analysis; Visual Perception/*physiology |
Abstract |
We report the results of a 4-year-long study of capuchin monkeys ( Cebus apella ) on concurrent three-way classification and linear size seriation tasks using explicit ordering procedures, requiring subjects to select icons displayed on touch screens rather than manipulate and sort actual objects into groups. The results indicate that C. apella is competent to classify nine items concurrently, first into three disjoint classes where class exemplars are identical to one another, then into three reciprocal classes which share common exemplar (size) features. In the final phase we compare the relative efficiency of executive control under conditions where both hierarchical and/or linear organization can be utilized. Whilst this shows a superiority of categorical based size seriation for a nine item test set suggesting an adaptive advantage for hierarchical over linear organization, Cebus nevertheless achieved high levels of principled linear size seriation with sequence lengths not normally achieved by children below the age of six years. |
Address |
Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience, Centre for Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh, Appleton Tower, George Square, Edinburgh EH 8 9QJ, UK. ejua48@holyrood.ed.ac.uk |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:12761655 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2568 |
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Author |
Henderson, J.; Hurly, T.A.; Healy, S.D. |
Title |
Spatial relational learning in rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
201-205 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; *Birds; *Concept Formation; Flowers; Form Perception; Male; *Orientation; Reward; Size Perception; *Space Perception; Spatial Behavior |
Abstract |
There is increasing evidence that animals can learn abstract spatial relationships, and successfully transfer this knowledge to novel situations. In this study, rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) were trained to feed from either the lower or the higher of two flowers. When presented with a test pair of flowers, one of which was at a novel height, they chose the flower in the appropriate spatial position rather than the flower at the correct height. This response may also have been influenced by a preference for taller flowers as acquisition of the task during experimental training occurred more readily when the reward flower was the taller of the pair. Thus, it appears that although learning abstract relationships may be a general phenomenon across contexts, and perhaps across species, the ease with which they are learned and the context in which they are subsequently used may not be the same. |
Address |
Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, UK |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16767469 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2465 |
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Author |
Skov-Rackette, S.I.; Shettleworth, S.J. |
Title |
What do rats learn about the geometry of object arrays? Tests with exploratory behavior |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
Volume |
31 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
142-154 |
Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal; *Discrimination Learning; *Exploratory Behavior; Female; *Form Perception; Habituation, Psychophysiologic; Male; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans |
Abstract |
Six experiments using habituation of exploratory behavior tested whether disoriented rats foraging in a large arena encode the shapes of arrays of objects. Rats did not respond to changes in position of a single object, but they responded to a change in object color and to a change in position of 1 object in a square array, as in previous research (e.g., C. Thinus-Blanc et al., 1987). Rats also responded to an expansion of a square array, suggesting that they encoded sets of interobject distances rather than overall shape. In Experiments 4-6, rats did not respond to changes in sense of a triangular array that maintained interobject distances and angles. Shapes of object arrays are encoded differently from shapes of enclosures. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada. shannon.skov.rackette@utoronto.ca |
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0097-7403 |
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PMID:15839772 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
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363 |
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Author |
Wasserman, E.A.; Gagliardi, J.L.; Cook, B.R.; Kirkpatrick-Steger, K.; Astley, S.L.; Biederman, I. |
Title |
The pigeon's recognition of drawings of depth-rotated stimuli |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1996 |
Publication |
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
Volume |
22 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
205-221 |
Keywords |
Animals; Cognition/*physiology; Columbidae; Discrimination (Psychology); Form Perception/*physiology; Learning/*physiology; Photic Stimulation; Rotation |
Abstract |
Four experiments used a four-choice discrimination learning paradigm to explore the pigeon's recognition of line drawings of four objects (an airplane, a chair, a desk lamp, and a flashlight) that were rotated in depth. The pigeons reliably generalized discriminative responding to pictorial stimuli over all untrained depth rotations, despite the bird's having been trained at only a single depth orientation. These generalization gradients closely resembled those found in prior research that used other stimulus dimensions. Increasing the number of different vantage points in the training set from one to three broadened the range of generalized testing performance, with wider spacing of the training orientations more effectively broadening generalized responding. Template and geon theories of visual recognition are applied to these empirical results. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242-1407, USA. ed-wasserman@uiowa.educ |
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0097-7403 |
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PMID:8618103 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2780 |
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Author |
Kelly, D.M.; Spetch, M.L. |
Title |
Pigeons encode relative geometry |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
Volume |
27 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
417-422 |
Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Columbidae; Discrimination Learning/physiology; Form Perception/*physiology; Space Perception/*physiology |
Abstract |
Pigeons were trained to search for hidden food in a rectangular environment designed to eliminate any external cues. Following training, the authors administered unreinforced test trials in which the geometric properties of the apparatus were manipulated. During tests that preserved the relative geometry but altered the absolute geometry of the environment, the pigeons continued to choose the geometrically correct corners, indicating that they encoded the relative geometry of the enclosure. When tested in a square enclosure, which distorted both the absolute and relative geometry, the pigeons randomly chose among the 4 corners, indicating that their choices were not based on cues external to the apparatus. This study provides new insight into how metric properties of an environment are encoded by pigeons. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E9. kelly@bio.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de |
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0097-7403 |
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PMID:11676090 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2770 |
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Author |
Santos, L.R.; Miller, C.T.; Hauser, M.D. |
Title |
Representing tools: how two non-human primate species distinguish between the functionally relevant and irrelevant features of a tool |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
6 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
269-281 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Form Perception/*physiology; Habituation, Psychophysiologic/*physiology; Imitative Behavior; Macaca mulatta/*growth & development/*psychology; Male; Motor Skills; Practice (Psychology); Saguinus/*growth & development/*psychology; Species Specificity |
Abstract |
Few studies have examined whether non-human tool-users understand the properties that are relevant for a tool's function. We tested cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) on an expectancy violation procedure designed to assess whether these species make distinctions between the functionally relevant and irrelevant features of a tool. Subjects watched an experimenter use a tool to push a grape down a ramp, and then were presented with different displays in which the features of the original tool (shape, color, orientation) were selectively varied. Results indicated that both species looked longer when a newly shaped stick acted on the grape than when a newly colored stick performed the same action, suggesting that both species perceive shape as a more salient transformation than color. In contrast, tamarins, but not rhesus, attended to changes in the tool's orientation. We propose that some non-human primates begin with a predisposition to attend to a tool's shape and, with sufficient experience, develop a more sophisticated understanding of the features that are functionally relevant to tools. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. laurie.santos@yale.edu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:12736800 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2570 |
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