| Records |
| Author |
Neuringer, A. |
| 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  |
Department of Psychology, Reed College, Portland, OR 97202, USA. allen.neuringer@reed.edu |
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English |
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0003-066X |
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PMID:15584823 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4106 |
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| Author |
Rilling, M.E.; Neiworth, J.J. |
| Title |
How animals use images |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1991 |
Publication |
Science Progress |
Abbreviated Journal |
Sci Prog |
| Volume |
75 |
Issue |
298 Pt 3-4 |
Pages |
439-452 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Association Learning; Columbidae; *Concept Formation; *Imagination; *Mental Recall; Motion Perception; Problem Solving; *Thinking; *Visual Perception |
| Abstract |
Animal cognition is a field within experimental psychology in which cognitive processes formerly studied exclusively with people have been demonstrated in animals. Evidence for imagery in the pigeon emerges from the experiments described here. The pigeon's task was to discriminate, by pecking the appropriate choice key, between a clock hand presented on a video screen that rotated clockwise with constant velocity from a clock hand that violated constant velocity. Imagery was defined by trials on which the line rotated from 12.00 o'clock to 3.00 o'clock, then disappeared during a delay, and reappeared at a final stop location beyond 3.00 o'clock. After acquisition of a discrimination with final stop locations at 3.00 o'clock and 6.00 o'clock, the evidence for imagery was the accurate responding of the pigeons to novel locations at 4.00 o'clock and 7.00 o'clock. Pigeons display evidence of imagery by transforming a representation of movement that includes a series of intermediate steps which accurately represent the location of a moving stimulus after it disappears. |
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Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824 |
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English |
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0036-8504 |
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PMID:1842858 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2831 |
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| Author |
Watanabe, S.; Huber, L. |
| Title |
Animal logics: decisions in the absence of human language |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
235-245 |
| Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Brain/physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Decision Making/*physiology; Evolution; Humans; *Language; *Logic; Problem Solving/physiology |
| Abstract |
Without Abstract |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, Keio University, Mita 2-15-45, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108, Japan. swat@flet.keio.ac.jp |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16909231 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2453 |
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| Author |
Beckers, T.; Miller, R.R.; De Houwer, J.; Urushihara, K. |
| Title |
Reasoning rats: forward blocking in Pavlovian animal conditioning is sensitive to constraints of causal inference |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Journal of experimental psychology. General |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Gen |
| Volume |
135 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
92-102 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; *Cognition; *Conditioning, Classical; Cues; Fear; Female; Inhibition (Psychology); Male; Motivation; *Problem Solving; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley |
| Abstract |
Forward blocking is one of the best-documented phenomena in Pavlovian animal conditioning. According to contemporary associative learning theories, forward blocking arises directly from the hardwired basic learning rules that govern the acquisition or expression of associations. Contrary to this view, here the authors demonstrate that blocking in rats is flexible and sensitive to constraints of causal inference, such as violation of additivity and ceiling considerations. This suggests that complex cognitive processes akin to causal inferential reasoning are involved in a well-established Pavlovian animal conditioning phenomenon commonly attributed to the operation of basic associative processes. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York, NY, USA. tom.beckers@psy.kuleuven.be |
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English |
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| ISSN |
0096-3445 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16478318 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
155 |
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| Author |
Sturz, B.R.; Bodily, K.D.; Katz, J.S. |
| Title |
Evidence against integration of spatial maps in humans |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
9 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
207-217 |
| Keywords |
Adult; *Association Learning; Computer Graphics; Humans; Male; *Orientation; *Problem Solving; Reference Values; *Space Perception; *Spatial Behavior; User-Computer Interface |
| Abstract |
A dynamic 3-D virtual environment was constructed for humans as an open-field analogue of Blaisdell and Cook's (2005) pigeon foraging task to determine if humans, like pigeons, were capable of integrating separate spatial maps. Participants used keyboard keys and a mouse to search for a hidden goal in a 4x4 grid of raised cups. During Phase 1 training, a goal was consistently located between two landmarks (Map 1: blue T and red L). During Phase 2 training, a goal was consistently located down and left of a single landmark (Map 2: blue T). Transfer trials were then conducted in which participants were required to make choices in the presence of the red L alone. Cup choices during transfer assessed participants' strategies: association (from Map 1), generalization (from Map 2), or integration (combining Map 1 and 2). During transfer, cup choices increased to a location which suggested an integration strategy and was consistent with results obtained with pigeons. However, additional analyses of the human data suggested participants initially used a generalization strategy followed by a progressive shift in search behavior away from the red L. This shift in search behavior during transfer was responsible for the changes in cup choices across transfer trials and was confirmed by a control condition. These new analyses offer an alternative explanation to the spatial integration account proposed for pigeons. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA. sturzbr@auburn.edu |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16767470 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2464 |
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| Author |
Urcuioli, P.J.; Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Transfer across delayed discriminations: evidence regarding the nature of prospective working memory |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1992 |
Publication |
Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
| Volume |
18 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
154-173 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Appetitive Behavior; Attention; *Color Perception; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning; *Mental Recall; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; Problem Solving; Retention (Psychology); *Transfer (Psychology) |
| Abstract |
Pigeons were trained successively either on 2 delayed simple discriminations or on a delayed simple discrimination followed by delayed matching-to-sample. During subsequent transfer tests, the initial stimuli from the 1st task were substituted for those in the 2nd. Performances transferred immediately if both sets of initial stimuli had been associated with the presence versus absence of food on their respective retention tests, and the direction of transfer (positive or negative) depended on whether the substitution involved stimuli with identical or different outcome associates. No transfer was found, however, when the initial stimuli were associated with different patterns of responding but food occurred at the end of every trial. These results are consistent with outcome expectancy mediation but are incompatible with response intention and retrospective coding accounts. |
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Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1364 |
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English |
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0097-7403 |
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| Notes |
PMID:1583445 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
260 |
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| Author |
Jordan, K.E.; Brannon, E.M. |
| Title |
Weber's Law influences numerical representations in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
9 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
159-172 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Attention; *Discrimination (Psychology); Female; Macaca mulatta/*psychology; Mathematics; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; Perceptual Masking; *Problem Solving; Psychological Theory; Psychometrics |
| Abstract |
We present the results of two experiments that probe the ability of rhesus macaques to match visual arrays based on number. Three monkeys were first trained on a delayed match-to-sample paradigm (DMTS) to match stimuli on the basis of number and ignore continuous dimensions such as element size, cumulative surface area, and density. Monkeys were then tested in a numerical bisection experiment that required them to indicate whether a sample numerosity was closer to a small or large anchor value. Results indicated that, for two sets of anchor values with the same ratio, the probability of choosing the larger anchor value systematically increased with the sample number and the psychometric functions superimposed. A second experiment employed a numerical DMTS task in which the choice values contained an exact numerical match to the sample and a distracter that varied in number. Both accuracy and reaction time were modulated by the ratio between the correct numerical match and the distracter, as predicted by Weber's Law. |
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Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Box 90999, Durham, NC 27708, USA |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16575587 |
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no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2471 |
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| Author |
Stoinski, T.S.; Whiten, A. |
| Title |
Social learning by orangutans (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus) in a simulated food-processing task |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
| Volume |
117 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
272-282 |
| Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; *Feeding Behavior; Female; *Imitative Behavior; Male; Pongo pygmaeus/*psychology; Problem Solving; Psychomotor Performance; Social Environment; Species Specificity; *Transfer (Psychology) |
| Abstract |
Increasing evidence for behavioral differences between populations of primates has created a resurgence of interest in examining mechanisms of information transfer between individuals. The authors examined the social transmission of information in 15 captive orangutans (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus) using a simulated food-processing task. Experimental subjects were shown 1 of 2 methods for removing a suite of defenses on an “artificial fruit.” Control subjects were given no prior exposure before interacting with the fruit. Observing a model provided a functional advantage in the task, as significantly more experimental than control subjects opened the fruit. Within the experimental groups, the authors found a trend toward differences in the actual behaviors used to remove 1 of the defenses. Results support observations from the wild implying horizontal transfer of information in orangutans and show that a number of social learning processes are likely to be involved in the transfer of knowledge in this species. |
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Department of Primate Research, Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30315, USA. tstoinski@zooatlanta.org |
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0735-7036 |
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PMID:14498803 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
737 |
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| Author |
Tebbich, S.; Seed, A.M.; Emery, N.J.; Clayton, N.S. |
| Title |
Non-tool-using rooks, Corvus frugilegus, solve the trap-tube problem |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
10 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
225-231 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Crows/*physiology; Female; Male; Problem Solving/*physiology |
| Abstract |
The trap-tube problem is used to assess whether an individual is able to foresee the outcome of its actions. To solve the task, an animal must use a tool to push a piece of food out of a tube, which has a trap along its length. An animal may learn to avoid the trap through a rule based on associative processes, e.g. using the distance of trap or food as a cue, or by understanding relations between cause and effect. This task has been used to test physical cognition in a number of tool-using species, but never a non-tool-user. We developed an experimental design that enabled us to test non-tool-using rooks, Corvus frugilegus. Our modification of the task removed the cognitive requirements of active tool use but still allowed us to test whether rooks can solve the trap-tube problem, and if so how. Additionally, we developed two new control tasks to determine whether rooks were able to transfer knowledge to similar, but novel problems, thus revealing more about the mechanisms involved in solving the task. We found that three out of seven rooks solved the modified trap-tube problem task, showing that the ability to solve the trap-tube problem is not restricted to tool-using animals. We found no evidence that the birds solved the task using an understanding of its causal properties, given that none of the birds passed the novel transfer tasks. |
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Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK. st281@cam.ac.uk |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17171360 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2429 |
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| Author |
Miklósi, Á.; Soproni, K. |
| Title |
A comparative analysis of animals' understanding of the human pointing gesture |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
9 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
81-93 |
| Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Child; Child, Preschool; Dogs; Fixation, Ocular; *Gestures; Hand; Humans; *Nonverbal Communication; Pinnipedia; Primates; Problem Solving; *Recognition (Psychology); Species Specificity |
| Abstract |
We review studies demonstrating the ability of some animals to understand the human pointing gesture. We present a 3-step analysis of the topic. (1) We compare and evaluate current experimental methods (2) We compare available experimental results on performance of different species and investigate the interaction of species differences and other independent variables (3) We evaluate how our present understanding of pointing comprehension answers questions about function, evolution and mechanisms. Recently, a number of different hypotheses have been put forward to account for the presence of this ability in some species and for the lack of such comprehension in others. In our view, there is no convincing evidence for the assumption that the competitive lifestyles of apes would inhibit the utilization of this human gesture. Similarly, domestication as a special evolutionary factor in the case of some species falls short in explaining high levels of pointing comprehension in some non-domestic species. We also disagree with the simplistic view of describing the phenomenon as a simple form of conditioning. We suggest that a more systematic comparative research is needed to understand the emerging communicative representational abilities in animals that provide the background for comprehending the human pointing gesture. |
| Address |
Department of Ethology, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Pazmany P 1/c, H-1117, Budapest, Hungary. miklosa@ludens.elte.hu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16235075 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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463 |
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