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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0003-066X |
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PMID:15584823 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4106 |
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Author |
Rumbaugh, D.M.; Riesen, A.H.; Wright, S.C. |
Title |
Creative responsiveness to objects: a report of a pilot study with young apes |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1972 |
Publication |
Folia Primatologica; International Journal of Primatology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Folia Primatol (Basel) |
Volume |
17 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
397-403 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Creativeness; *Hominidae; Pan troglodytes; Play and Playthings; *Problem Solving |
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0015-5713 |
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PMID:5082622 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4183 |
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Author |
Clement, T.S.; Zentall, T.R. |
Title |
Choice based on exclusion in pigeons |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Psychonomic bulletin & review |
Abbreviated Journal |
Psychon Bull Rev |
Volume |
10 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
959-964 |
Keywords |
Animals; Appetitive Behavior; *Association Learning; *Choice Behavior; *Color Perception; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning; Memory, Short-Term; *Problem Solving; Psychomotor Performance; Reaction Time; Transfer (Psychology) |
Abstract |
When humans acquire a conditional discrimination and are given a novel-sample-comparison choice, they often reject a comparison known to be associated with a different sample and choose the alternative comparison by default (or by exclusion). In Experiment 1, we found that if, following matching training, we replaced both of the samples, acquisition took five times longer than if we replaced only one of the samples. Apparently, the opportunity to reject one of the comparisons facilitated the association of the other sample with the remaining comparison. In Experiment 2, we first trained pigeons to treat two samples differently (to associate Sample A with Comparison 1 and Sample B with Comparison 2) and then trained them to associate one of those samples with a new comparison (e.g., Sample A with Comparison 3) and to associate a novel sample (Sample C) with a different, new comparison (Comparison 4). When Sample B then replaced Sample C, the pigeons showed a significant tendency to choose Comparison 4 over Comparison 3. Thus, when given the opportunity, pigeons will choose by exclusion. |
Address |
University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA |
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1069-9384 |
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PMID:15000545 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
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233 |
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Author |
Ottoni, E.B.; de Resende, B.D.; Izar, P. |
Title |
Watching the best nutcrackers: what capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) know about others' tool-using skills |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Animal cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
8 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
215-219 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; Cebus/*psychology; *Feeding Behavior; Female; Male; Nuts; *Problem Solving |
Abstract |
The present work is part of a decade-long study on the spontaneous use of stones for cracking hard-shelled nuts by a semi-free-ranging group of brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Nutcracking events are frequently watched by other individuals--usually younger, less proficient, and that are well tolerated to the point of some scrounging being allowed by the nutcracker. Here we report findings showing that the choice of observational targets is an active, non-random process, and that observers seem to have some understanding of the relative proficiency of their group mates, preferentially watching the more skilled nutcrackers, which enhances not only scrounging payoffs, but also social learning opportunities. |
Address |
Laboratory of Cognitive Ethology, Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. ebottoni@usp.br |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:15719240 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
355 |
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Author |
Huber, L.; Gajdon, G.K. |
Title |
Technical intelligence in animals: the kea model |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
295-305 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Comprehension; *Intelligence; Models, Psychological; Observation; *Parrots; *Problem Solving; Psychological Theory; Social Environment; *Tool Use Behavior |
Abstract |
The ability to act on information flexibly is one of the cornerstones of intelligent behavior. As particularly informative example, tool-oriented behavior has been investigated to determine to which extent nonhuman animals understand means-end relations, object affordances, and have specific motor skills. Even planning with foresight, goal-directed problem solving and immediate causal inference have been a focus of research. However, these cognitive abilities may not be restricted to tool-using animals but may be found also in animals that show high levels of curiosity, object exploration and manipulation, and extractive foraging behavior. The kea, a New Zealand parrot, is a particularly good example. We here review findings from laboratory experiments and field observations of keas revealing surprising cognitive capacities in the physical domain. In an experiment with captive keas, the success rate of individuals that were allowed to observe a trained conspecific was significantly higher than that of naive control subjects due to their acquisition of some functional understanding of the task through observation. In a further experiment using the string-pulling task, a well-probed test for means-end comprehension, we found the keas finding an immediate solution that could not be improved upon in nine further trials. We interpreted their performance as insightful in the sense of being sensitive of the relevant functional properties of the task and thereby producing a new adaptive response without trial-and-error learning. Together, these findings contribute to the ongoing debate on the distribution of higher cognitive skills in the animal kingdom by showing high levels of sensorimotor intelligence in animals that do not use tools. In conclusion, we suggest that the 'Technical intelligence hypothesis' (Byrne, Machiavellian intelligence II: extensions and evaluations, pp 289-211, 1997), which has been proposed to explain the origin of the ape/monkey grade-shift in intelligence by a selection pressure upon an increased efficiency in foraging behavior, should be extended, that is, applied to some birds as well. |
Address |
Department for Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria. ludwig.huber@univie.ac.at |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16909237 |
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no |
Call Number |
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Serial |
2085 |
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Author |
Weir, A.A.S.; Kacelnik, A. |
Title |
A New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) creatively re-designs tools by bending or unbending aluminium strips |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
317-334 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Comprehension; *Crows; Female; Learning; *Motor Skills; *Problem Solving; *Tool Use Behavior |
Abstract |
Previous observations of a New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) spontaneously bending wire and using it as a hook [Weir et al. (2002) Science 297:981] have prompted questions about the extent to which these animals 'understand' the physical causality involved in how hooks work and how to make them. To approach this issue we examine how the same subject (“Betty”) performed in three experiments with novel material, which needed to be either bent or unbent in order to function to retrieve food. These tasks exclude the possibility of success by repetition of patterns of movement similar to those employed before. Betty quickly developed novel techniques to bend the material, and appropriately modified it on four of five trials when unbending was required. She did not mechanically apply a previously learned set of movements to the new situations, and instead sought new solutions to each problem. However, the details of her behaviour preclude concluding definitely that she understood and planned her actions: in some cases she probed with the unmodified tools before modifying them, or attempted to use the unmodified (unsuitable) end of the tool after modification. Gauging New Caledonian crows' level of understanding is not yet possible, but the observed behaviour is consistent with a partial understanding of physical tasks at a level that exceeds that previously attained by any other non-human subject, including apes. |
Address |
Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK. alex.weir@magdalen.oxon.org |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:17024509 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2436 |
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Author |
Hunt, G.R.; Rutledge, R.B.; Gray, R.D. |
Title |
The right tool for the job: what strategies do wild New Caledonian crows use? |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
307-316 |
Keywords |
Analysis of Variance; Animals; Comprehension; *Crows; Female; *Intelligence; Male; *Problem Solving; *Tool Use Behavior |
Abstract |
New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides (NC crows) display sophisticated tool manufacture in the wild, but the cognitive strategy underlying these skills is poorly understood. Here, we investigate what strategy two free-living NC crows used in response to a tool-length task. The crows manufactured tools to extract food from vertical holes of different depths. The first tools they made in visits were of a similar length regardless of the hole depth. The typical length was usually too short to extract food from the deep holes, which ruled out a strategy of immediate causal inference on the first attempt in a trial. When the first tool failed, the crows made second tools significantly longer than the unsuccessful first tools. There was no evidence that the crows made the lengths of first tools to directly match hole depth. We argue that NC crows may generally use a two-stage heuristic strategy to solve tool problems and that performance on the first attempt in a trial is not necessarily the 'gold standard' for assessing folk physics. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand. grhunt10@hotmail.com |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16941156 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2442 |
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Author |
Call, J. |
Title |
Inferences by exclusion in the great apes: the effect of age and species |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
393-403 |
Keywords |
Age Factors; Animals; Association Learning; *Cognition; *Concept Formation; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Gorilla gorilla; Hominidae/classification/*psychology; Male; Pan paniscus; Pan troglodytes; Pongo pygmaeus; *Problem Solving; Species Specificity |
Abstract |
This study investigated the ability of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and bonobos to make inferences by exclusion using the procedure pioneered by Premack and Premack (Cognition 50:347-362, 1994) with chimpanzees. Thirty apes were presented with two different food items (banana vs. grape) on a platform and covered with identical containers. One of the items was removed from the container and placed between the two containers so that subjects could see it. After discarding this item, subjects could select between the two containers. In Experiment 1, apes preferentially selected the container that held the item that the experimenter had not discarded, especially if subjects saw the experimenter remove the item from the container (but without seeing the container empty). Experiment 3 in which the food was removed from one of the containers behind a barrier confirmed these results. In contrast, subjects performed at chance levels when a stimulus (colored plastic chip: Exp. 1; food item: Exp. 2 and Exp. 3) designated the item that had been removed. These results indicated that apes made inferences, not just learned to use a discriminative cue to avoid the empty container. Apes perceived and treated the item discarded by the experimenter as if it were the very one that had been hidden under the container. Results suggested a positive relationship between age and inferential ability independent of memory ability but no species differences. |
Address |
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. call@eva.mpg.de |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16924458 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2444 |
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Author |
Lea, S.E.G.; Goto, K.; Osthaus, B.; Ryan, C.M.E. |
Title |
The logic of the stimulus |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
247-256 |
Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Columbidae; Comprehension/physiology; Dogs; Humans; *Logic; Pattern Recognition, Visual/physiology; Perception/*physiology; Problem Solving/*physiology; Species Specificity |
Abstract |
This paper examines the contribution of stimulus processing to animal logics. In the classic functionalist S-O-R view of learning (and cognition), stimuli provide the raw material to which the organism applies its cognitive processes-its logic, which may be taxon-specific. Stimuli may contribute to the logic of the organism's response, and may do so in taxon-specific ways. Firstly, any non-trivial stimulus has an internal organization that may constrain or bias the way that the organism addresses it; since stimuli can only be defined relative to the organism's perceptual apparatus, and this apparatus is taxon-specific, such constraints or biases will often be taxon-specific. Secondly, the representation of a stimulus that the perceptual system builds, and the analysis it makes of this representation, may provide a model for the synthesis and analysis done at a more cognitive level. Such a model is plausible for evolutionary reasons: perceptual analysis was probably perfected before cognitive analysis in the evolutionary history of the vertebrates. Like stimulus-driven analysis, such perceptually modelled cognition may be taxon-specific because of the taxon-specificity of the perceptual apparatus. However, it may also be the case that different taxa are able to free themselves from the stimulus logic, and therefore apply a more abstract logic, to different extents. This thesis is defended with reference to two examples of cases where animals' cognitive logic seems to be isomorphic with perceptual logic, specifically in the case of pigeons' attention to global and local information in visual stimuli, and dogs' failure to comprehend means-end relationships in string-pulling tasks. |
Address |
School of Psychology, Washington Singer Laboratories, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, United Kingdom. s.e.g.lea@exeter.ac.uk |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16909234 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2450 |
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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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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16909231 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2453 |
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