Records |
Author |
Zentall, T.R. |
Title |
Temporal discrimination learning by pigeons |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Behavioural processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
74 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
286-292 |
Keywords |
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Abstract |
Memory for time by animals appears to undergo a systematic shortening. This so-called choose-short effect can be seen in a conditional temporal discrimination when a delay is inserted between the sample and comparison stimuli. We have proposed that this temporal shortening may result from a procedural artifact in which the delay appears similar to the intertrial interval and thus, produces an inadvertent ambiguity or 'instructional failure'. When this ambiguity is avoided by distinguishing the intertrial interval from the delay, as well as the samples from the delay, the temporal shortening effect and other asymmetries often disappear. By avoiding artifacts that can lead to a misinterpretation of results, we may understand better how animals represent time. An alternative procedure for studying temporal discriminations is with the psychophysical bisection procedure in which following conditional discrimination training, intermediate durations are presented and the point of subjective equality is determined. Research using the bisection procedure has shown that pigeons represent temporal durations not only as their absolute value but also relative to durations from which they must be discriminated. Using this procedure, we have also found that time passes subjectively slower when animals are required to respond to the to-be-timed stimulus. |
Address ![sorted by Address field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, United States. zentall@uky.edu |
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0376-6357 |
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PMID:17110057 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
216 |
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Author |
Zentall, T.R. |
Title |
Timing, memory for intervals, and memory for untimed stimuli: The role of instructional ambiguity |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Behavioural processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
71 |
Issue |
2-3 |
Pages |
88-97 |
Keywords |
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Abstract |
Theories of animal timing have had to account for findings that the memory for the duration of a timed interval appears to be dramatically shorted within a short time of its termination. This finding has led to the subjective shortening hypothesis and it has been proposed to account for the poor memory that animals appear to have for the initial portion of a timed interval when a gap is inserted in the to-be-timed signal. It has also been proposed to account for the poor memory for a relatively long interval that has been discriminated from a shorter interval. I suggest here a simpler account in which ambiguity between the gap or retention interval and the intertrial interval results in resetting the clock, rather than forgetting the interval. The ambiguity hypothesis, together with a signal salience mechanism that determines how quickly the clock is reset at the start of the intertrial interval can account for the results of the reported timing experiments that have used the peak procedure. Furthermore, instructional ambiguity rather than memory loss may account for the results of many animal memory experiments that do not involve memory for time. |
Address ![sorted by Address field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 202B Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA. zentall@uky.edu |
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0376-6357 |
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PMID:16406373 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
219 |
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Author |
Zentall, T.R. |
Title |
Timing, memory for intervals, and memory for untimed stimuli: the role of instructional ambiguity |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Behavioural processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
70 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
209-222 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Attention; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning; *Memory, Short-Term; Practice (Psychology); Reinforcement Schedule; *Retention (Psychology); *Time Perception |
Abstract |
Theories of animal timing have had to account for findings that the memory for the duration of a timed interval appears to be dramatically shorted within a short time of its termination. This finding has led to the subjective shortening hypothesis and it has been proposed to account for the poor memory that animals appear to have for the initial portion of a timed interval when a gap is inserted in the to-be-timed signal. It has also been proposed to account for the poor memory for a relatively long interval that has been discriminated from a shorter interval. I suggest here a simpler account in which ambiguity between the gap or retention interval and the intertrial interval results in resetting the clock, rather than forgetting the interval. The ambiguity hypothesis, together with a signal salience mechanism that determines how quickly the clock is reset at the start of the intertrial interval can account for the results of the reported timing experiments that have used the peak procedure. Furthermore, instructional ambiguity rather than memory loss may account for the results of many animal memory experiments that do not involve memory for time. |
Address ![sorted by Address field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 202B Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA. zentall@uky.edu |
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0376-6357 |
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PMID:16095851 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
222 |
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Author |
Zentall, T.R. |
Title |
Selective and divided attention in animals |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Behavioural processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
69 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
1-15 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Attention; *Behavior, Animal; *Discrimination (Psychology); *Field Dependence-Independence; *Psychological Theory |
Abstract |
This article reviews some of the research on attentional processes in animals. In the traditional approach to selective attention, it is proposed that in addition to specific response attachments, animals also learn something about the dimension along which the stimuli fall (e.g., hue, brightness, or line orientation). More recently, there has been an attempt to find animal analogs to methodologies originally applied to research with humans. One line of research has been directed to the question of whether animals can locate a target among distracters faster if they are prepared for the presentation of the target (search image and priming). In the study of search image, the target is typically a food item and the cue consists of previous trials on which the same target is presented. In research on priming effects, the cue is typically different from the target but is a good predictor of its occurrence. The study of preattentive processes shows that perceptually, certain stimuli stand out from distracters better than others, depending not only on characteristics of the target relative to the distracters, but also on relations among the distracters. Research on divided attention is examined with the goal of determining whether an animal can process two elements of a compound sample with the same efficiency as one. Taken together, the reviewed research indicates that animals are capable of centrally (not just peripherally) attending to selective aspects of a stimulus display. |
Address ![sorted by Address field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 202B Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA. Zentall@uky.edu |
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0376-6357 |
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PMID:15795066 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
224 |
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Author |
Boughner, R.L.; Papini, M.R. |
Title |
Appetitive latent inhibition in rats: preexposure performance does not predict conditioned performance |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
72 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
42-51 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Appetitive Behavior; Association Learning; *Conditioning, Classical; *Habituation, Psychophysiologic; Individuality; *Inhibition (Psychology); Male; Motivation; Rats; Rats, Wistar; *Reaction Time |
Abstract |
Nonreinforced preexposure to a conditioned stimulus impairs subsequent conditioning with that stimulus. The goal of these studies was to assess the extent to which acquisition performance could be predicted from preexposure performance using a correlational approach. For both preexposure and autoshaping, four measures of performance were computed, including overall average lever pressing, lever pressing in the initial session, percentage change in lever pressing, and slopes. These measures were correlated in a large sample of rats trained in an autoshaping situation. None of the three measures of autoshaping performance was consistently predicted by any of the three measures of preexposure performance. These results are consistent with the view that latent inhibition is not reducible to long-term habituation. |
Address ![sorted by Address field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, TX 76129, United States |
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0376-6357 |
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PMID:16406375 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4147 |
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Author |
Galef BG, J.; Giraldeau, L.A. |
Title |
Social influences on foraging in vertebrates: causal mechanisms and adaptive functions |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
Volume |
61 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
3-15 |
Keywords |
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Abstract |
We summarize 20 years of empirical and theoretical research on causes and functions of social influences on foraging by animals. We consider separately studies of social influence on when, where, what and how to eat. Implicit in discussion of the majority of studies is our assumption that social influences on foraging reflect a biasing of individual learning processes by social stimuli rather than action of independent social-learning mechanisms. Our review of theoretical approaches suggests that the majority of formally derived hypotheses concerning functions of social influence on foraging have not yet been tested adequately and many models are in need of further refinement. We also consider the importance to the future of the field of integrating 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches to the study of social learning. Copyright 2001 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. |
Address ![sorted by Address field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
Department of Psychology, McMaster University |
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0003-3472 |
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PMID:11170692 |
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no |
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2135 |
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Author |
Hare, B.; Call, J.; Tomasello, M. |
Title |
Do chimpanzees know what conspecifics know? |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
Volume |
61 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
139-151 |
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Abstract |
We conducted three experiments on social problem solving by chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes. In each experiment a subordinate and a dominant individual competed for food, which was placed in various ways on the subordinate's side of two opaque barriers. In some conditions dominants had not seen the food hidden, or food they had seen hidden was moved elsewhere when they were not watching (whereas in control conditions they saw the food being hidden or moved). At the same time, subordinates always saw the entire baiting procedure and could monitor the visual access of their dominant competitor as well. If subordinates were sensitive to what dominants did or did not see during baiting, they should have preferentially approached and retrieved the food that dominants had not seen hidden or moved. This is what they did in experiment 1 when dominants were either uninformed or misinformed about the food's location. In experiment 2 subordinates recognized, and adjusted their behaviour accordingly, when the dominant individual who witnessed the hiding was replaced with another dominant individual who had not witnessed it, thus demonstrating their ability to keep track of precisely who has witnessed what. In experiment 3 subordinates did not choose consistently between two pieces of hidden food, one of which dominants had seen hidden and one of which they had not seen hidden. However, their failure in this experiment was likely to be due to the changed nature of the competition under these circumstances and not to a failure of social-cognitive skills. These findings suggest that at least in some situations (i.e. competition with conspecifics) chimpanzees know what conspecifics have and have not seen (do and do not know), and that they use this information to devise effective social-cognitive strategies. Copyright 2001 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. |
Address ![sorted by Address field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
Department of Psychology and Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Emory University |
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0003-3472 |
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PMID:11170704 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
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588 |
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Author |
Virányi, Z.; Topál, J.; Gácsi, M.; Miklósi, Á.; Csányi, V. |
Title |
Dogs respond appropriately to cues of humans' attentional focus |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
66 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
161-172 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Attention; Bonding, Human-Pet; Communication; *Cues; Dogs; Humans; Recognition (Psychology) |
Abstract |
Dogs' ability to recognise cues of human visual attention was studied in different experiments. Study 1 was designed to test the dogs' responsiveness to their owner's tape-recorded verbal commands (Down!) while the Instructor (who was the owner of the dog) was facing either the dog or a human partner or none of them, or was visually separated from the dog. Results show that dogs were more ready to follow the command if the Instructor attended them during instruction compared to situations when the Instructor faced the human partner or was out of sight of the dog. Importantly, however, dogs showed intermediate performance when the Instructor was orienting into 'empty space' during the re-played verbal commands. This suggests that dogs are able to differentiate the focus of human attention. In Study 2 the same dogs were offered the possibility to beg for food from two unfamiliar humans whose visual attention (i.e. facing the dog or turning away) was systematically varied. The dogs' preference for choosing the attentive person shows that dogs are capable of using visual cues of attention to evaluate the human actors' responsiveness to solicit food-sharing. The dogs' ability to understand the communicatory nature of the situations is discussed in terms of their social cognitive skills and unique evolutionary history. |
Address ![sorted by Address field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
Department of Ethology, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary. zsofi.viranyi@freemail.hu |
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PMID:15110918 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4957 |
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Author |
Cameron, E.Z. |
Title |
Is suckling behaviour a useful predictor of milk intake? A review |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1998 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
Volume |
56 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
521-532 |
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In studies on mammalian parental investment, time spent suckling is often used as a predictor of the milk transferred from mother to infant. It is assumed that the rate of milk transfer is positively correlated with the time spent suckling. However, this assumption has not been tested and empirical studies show conflicting results. Nevertheless, in species in which suckling can readily be observed, time spent suckling is still used to measure milk transfer, although an increasing number of workers recognize that the measure is potentially inaccurate. A meta-analysis on studies that have correlated measures of time spent suckling with milk intake estimates based on weight gain revealed a weak positive relationship and significant heterogeneity between studies. Isotope-labelling techniques for the measurement of milk transfer independent of behaviour have been in use since the 1970s, particularly in studies of species in which suckling is difficult to observe. Only one study has attempted to correlate behavioural measures with independent isotope measures, and it found no relationship between the two measures. I suggest that researchers have avoided such a test as it is unlikely that a strong relationship will be found between milk transfer and suckling behaviour, and I discuss the various factors that confound the relationship and contribute to high heterogeneity between studies. Consequently, the assumption that milk transfer can be measured by time spent suckling has inadequate empirical foundation, and needs to be tested using isotope-labelling methods. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour |
Address ![sorted by Address field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
Department of Ecology, Massey University |
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0003-3472 |
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PMID:9784199 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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419 |
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Author |
Mottley, K.; Giraldeau, L.A. |
Title |
Experimental evidence that group foragers can converge on predicted producer-scrounger equilibria |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2000 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
Volume |
60 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
341-350 |
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When foraging together, animals are often observed to feed from food discoveries of others. The producer-scrounger (PS) game predicts how frequently this phenomenon of food parasitism should occur. The game assumes: (1) at any moment all individuals can unambiguously be categorized as either playing producer (searching for undiscovered food resources) or scrounger (searching for exploitation opportunities), and (2) the payoffs received from the scrounger tactic are negatively frequency dependent; a scrounger does better than a producer when the scrounger tactic is rare, but worse when it is common. No study to date has shown that the payoffs of producer and scrounger conform to the game's assumptions or that groups of foragers reach the predicted stable equilibrium frequency (SEF) of scrounger, whereby both tactics obtain the same payoff. The current study of three captive flocks of spice finches, Lonchura punctulata, provides the first test of the PS game using an apparatus in which both assumptions of the PS game are met. The payoffs to the scrounger, measured as feeding rate (seeds/s), were highly negatively frequency dependent on the frequency of scrounger. The feeding rate for scrounger declined linearly while the rate for producer either declined only slightly or not at all with increasing scrounger frequency. When given the opportunity to alternate between tactics, the birds changed their use of each, such that the group converged on the predicted SEF of scrounger after 5-8 days of testing. Individuals in this study, therefore, demonstrated sufficient plasticity in tactic use such that the flock foraged at the SEF of scrounger. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. |
Address ![sorted by Address field, descending order (down)](img/sort_desc.gif) |
Department of Biology, Concordia University |
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0003-3472 |
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PMID:11007643 |
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2136 |
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