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Author Neuringer, A. doi  openurl
  Title Reinforced variability in animals and people: implications for adaptive action Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication The American Psychologist Abbreviated Journal Am Psychol  
  Volume 59 Issue 9 Pages 891-906  
  Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal; *Choice Behavior; Conditioning, Operant; Creativeness; Discrimination (Psychology); Humans; Memory; Problem Solving; *Reinforcement (Psychology)  
  Abstract Although reinforcement often leads to repetitive, even stereotyped responding, that is not a necessary outcome. When it depends on variations, reinforcement results in responding that is diverse, novel, indeed unpredictable, with distributions sometimes approaching those of a random process. This article reviews evidence for the powerful and precise control by reinforcement over behavioral variability, evidence obtained from human and animal-model studies, and implications of such control. For example, reinforcement of variability facilitates learning of complex new responses, aids problem solving, and may contribute to creativity. Depression and autism are characterized by abnormally repetitive behaviors, but individuals afflicted with such psychopathologies can learn to vary their behaviors when reinforced for so doing. And reinforced variability may help to solve a basic puzzle concerning the nature of voluntary action.  
  Address (up) Department of Psychology, Reed College, Portland, OR 97202, USA. allen.neuringer@reed.edu  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0003-066X ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15584823 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4106  
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Author Markman, E.M.; Abelev, M. doi  openurl
  Title Word learning in dogs? Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Trends in Cognitive Sciences Abbreviated Journal Trends. Cognit. Sci.  
  Volume 8 Issue 11 Pages 479-81; discussion 481  
  Keywords Animals; Association Learning; Dogs; *Learning; *Verbal Learning; *Vocabulary  
  Abstract In a recent paper, Kaminski, Call and Fischer report pioneering research on word-learning in a dog. In this commentary we suggest ways of distinguishing referential word use from mere association. We question whether the dog is reasoning by exclusion and, if so, compare three explanations – learned heuristics, default assumptions, and pragmatic reasoning – as they apply to children and might apply to dogs. Kaminski et al.'s work clearly raises important questions about the origins and basis of word learning and social cognition.  
  Address (up) Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Bldg 420, Stanford, CA 94305-2130, USA  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1364-6613 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15491899 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 274  
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Author Bering, J.M. doi  openurl
  Title A critical review of the “enculturation hypothesis”: the effects of human rearing on great ape social cognition Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 7 Issue 4 Pages 201-212  
  Keywords Animals; *Cognition; *Culture; Hominidae/*psychology; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Imprinting (Psychology); *Intention; Macaca; Psychological Theory; Social Behavior; *Social Environment; Species Specificity  
  Abstract Numerous investigators have argued that early ontogenetic immersion in sociocultural environments facilitates cognitive developmental change in human-reared great apes more characteristic of Homo sapiens than of their own species. Such revamping of core, species-typical psychological systems might be manifest, according to this argument, in the emergence of mental representational competencies, a set of social cognitive skills theoretically consigned to humans alone. Human-reared great apes' capacity to engage in “true imitation,” in which both the means and ends of demonstrated actions are reproduced with fairly high rates of fidelity, and laboratory great apes' failure to do so, has frequently been interpreted as reflecting an emergent understanding of intentionality in the former. Although this epigenetic model of the effects of enculturation on social cognitive systems may be well-founded and theoretically justified in the biological literature, alternative models stressing behavioral as opposed to representational change have been largely overlooked. Here I review some of the controversy surrounding enculturation in great apes, and present an alternative nonmentalistic version of the enculturation hypothesis that can also account for enhanced imitative performance on object-oriented problem-solving tasks in human-reared animals.  
  Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA. jbering@uark.edu  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15004739 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2543  
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Author Hunt, G.R.; Gray, R.D. doi  openurl
  Title Direct observations of pandanus-tool manufacture and use by a New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages 114-120  
  Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Discrimination Learning; *Feeding Behavior; *Functional Laterality; Manufactured Materials; *Plant Leaves; *Songbirds  
  Abstract New Caledonian crows are reported to have impressive pandanus-tool manufacture abilities. These claims are based on an extensive artefact record. However, inferring behavioural and cognitive abilities without direct observation of tool manufacture is problematic. Here we report (and document on video) direct observations of a crow making and using stepped pandanus tools at Pic Ningua. We observed (1) a bias for making tools on left edges consistent with that previously found at the site, (2) faithful manufacture of a stepped design with high overall congruence in the shapes of tools, (3) the use of convergent rips to first form the tapered end working away from the trunk then the wide end working towards the trunk, (4) appropriate functional use of stepped tools by use of the leaf-edge barbs to hook food from holes, and (5) consistent holding of tools on the left side of its head when using them. Our observations verify most of the claims based on the artefact record, but the crow's exact manufacture technique was slightly different to that inferred previously.  
  Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, 92019 Auckland, New Zealand. grhunt10@hotmail.com  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15069611 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2529  
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Author Uller, C. doi  openurl
  Title Disposition to recognize goals in infant chimpanzees Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 7 Issue 3 Pages 154-161  
  Keywords Analysis of Variance; Animals; Female; Fixation, Ocular; *Goals; *Intention; Male; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Pattern Recognition, Visual; *Problem Solving; *Recognition (Psychology)  
  Abstract Do nonhuman primates attribute goals to others? Traditional studies with chimpanzees provide equivocal evidence for “mind reading” in nonhuman primates. Here we adopt looking time, a methodology commonly used with human infants to test infant chimpanzees. In this experiment, four infant chimpanzees saw computer-generated stimuli that mimicked a goal-directed behavior. The baby chimps performed as well as human infants, namely, they were sensitive to the trajectories of the objects, thus suggesting that chimpanzees may be endowed with a disposition to understand goal-directed behaviors. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed.  
  Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, C04 3SQ, Colchester, UK. uller40@yahoo.com  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:14685823 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2546  
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Author Zentall, T.R. openurl 
  Title Action imitation in birds Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Learning & behavior : a Psychonomic Society publication Abbreviated Journal Learn Behav  
  Volume 32 Issue 1 Pages 15-23  
  Keywords Adaptation, Psychological; Animals; *Birds; *Imitative Behavior; Imprinting (Psychology); *Learning; Motivation; Psychological Theory; *Social Environment; *Social Facilitation; Vocalization, Animal  
  Abstract Action imitation, once thought to be a behavior almost exclusively limited to humans and the great apes, surprisingly also has been found in a number of bird species. Because imitation has been viewed by some psychologists as a form of intelligent behavior, there has been interest in how it is distributed among animal species. Although the mechanisms responsible for action imitation are not clear, we are now at least beginning to understand the conditions under which it occurs. In this article, I try to identify and differentiate the various forms of socially influenced behavior (species-typical social reactions, social effects on motivation, social effects on perception, socially influenced learning, and action imitation) and explain why it is important to differentiate imitation from other forms of social influence. I also examine some of the variables that appear to be involved in the occurrence of imitation. Finally, I speculate about why a number of bird species, but few mammal species, appear to imitate.  
  Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, USA. zentall@uky.edu  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1543-4494 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15161137 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 230  
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Author Zentall, T.R.; Weaver, J.E.; Clement, T.S. openurl 
  Title Pigeons group time intervals according to their relative duration Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Psychonomic bulletin & review Abbreviated Journal Psychon Bull Rev  
  Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 113-117  
  Keywords Animals; Columbidae; *Discrimination (Psychology); Reinforcement (Psychology); Time Factors; Time Perception  
  Abstract In the present research, we asked whether pigeons tended to judge time intervals not only in terms of their absolute value but also relative to a duration from which they must be discriminated (i.e., longer or shorter). Pigeons were trained on two independent temporal discriminations. In one discrimination, sample durations of 2 and 8 sec were associated with, for example, red and green hue comparisons, respectively, and in the other discrimination, sample durations of 4 and 16 sec were associated with vertical and horizontal line comparisons, respectively. If pigeons are trained on a temporal discrimination and tested with intermediate durations, the subjective midpoint typically occurs close to the geometric mean of the two trained values. The 4- and 8-sec values were selected to be the geometric mean of the two values in the other discrimination. When a 4-sec test sample was presented with the comparisons from the 2- and 8-sec discrimination, the pigeons preferred the comparison associated with the shorter sample. Similarly, when an 8-sec test sample was presented with the comparisons from the 4- and 16-sec discrimination, the pigeons preferred the comparison associated with the longer sample. Thus, a relative grouping effect was found. That is, durations that should have produced indifferent choice were influenced by their relative durations (shorter than or longer than the alternative) during training.  
  Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0044, USA. zentall@pop.uky.edu  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1069-9384 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15116995 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 231  
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Author Friedrich, A.M.; Zentall, T.R. doi  openurl
  Title Pigeons shift their preference toward locations of food that take more effort to obtain Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Behavioural processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.  
  Volume 67 Issue 3 Pages 405-415  
  Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Choice Behavior; Columbidae; *Exertion; *Feeding Behavior; Reward  
  Abstract Although animals typically prefer to exert less effort rather than more effort to obtain food, the present research shows that requiring greater effort to obtain food at a particular location appears to increase the value of that location. In Experiment 1, pigeons' initial preference for one feeder was significantly reduced by requiring 1 peck to obtain food from that feeder and requiring 30 pecks to obtain food from the other feeder. In Experiment 2, a similar decrease in preference was not found when pigeons received reinforcement from both feeders independently of the amount of effort required. These results are consistent with the within-trial contrast effect proposed by in which the relative hedonic value of a reward depends on the state of the animal immediately prior to the reward. The greater the improvement from that prior state the greater the value of the reinforcer.  
  Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0376-6357 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15518990 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 227  
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Author Friedrich, A.M.; Clement, T.S.; Zentall, T.R. doi  openurl
  Title Functional equivalence in pigeons involving a four-member class Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Behavioural processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.  
  Volume 67 Issue 3 Pages 395-403  
  Keywords Animals; *Association Learning; *Behavior, Animal; *Cognition; Columbidae; *Concept Formation  
  Abstract Research suggests that animals are capable of forming functional equivalence relations or stimulus classes of the kind usually demonstrated by humans (e.g., the class defined by an object and the word for that object). In pigeons, such functional equivalences are typically established using many-to-one matching-to-sample in which two samples are associated with one comparison stimulus and two different samples are associated with the other. Evidence for the establishment of functional equivalences between samples associated with the same comparison comes from transfer tests. In Experiment 1, we found that pigeons can form a single class consisting of four members (many-to-one matching) when the alternative class has only one member (one-to-one matching). In Experiment 2, we ruled out the possibility that the pigeons acquired the hybrid one-to-one/many-to-one task by developing a single-code/default coding strategy as earlier research suggested that it might. Thus, pigeons can develop a functional class consisting of as many as four members, with the alternative class consisting of a single member.  
  Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0376-6357 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15518989 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 228  
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Author Zentall, T.R.; Klein, E.D.; Singer, R.A. doi  openurl
  Title Evidence for detection of one duration sample and default responding to other duration samples by pigeons may result from an artifact of retention-test ambiguity Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process  
  Volume 30 Issue 2 Pages 129-134  
  Keywords Animals; Artifacts; Association Learning; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning; *Recognition (Psychology); *Retention (Psychology); *Time Perception; *Transfer (Psychology)  
  Abstract S. C. Gaitan and J. T. Wixted (2000) proposed that when pigeons are trained on a conditional discrimination to associate 1 duration sample with 1 comparison and 2 other duration samples with a 2nd comparison, they detect only the single duration, and on trials involving either of the 2 other duration samples, they respond to the other comparison by default. In 2 experiments, the authors show instead that pigeons lend to treat the retention intervals (such as those used by Gaitan and Wixted) as intertrial intervals, and thus, they tend to treat all trials with a delay as 0-s sample trials. The authors tested this hypothesis by showing that divergent retention functions do not appear when the retention interval is discriminably different from the intertrial interval.  
  Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA. zentall@uky.edu  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0097-7403 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15078122 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 232  
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