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Author Santos, L.R.; Rosati, A.; Sproul, C.; Spaulding, B.; Hauser, M.D. doi  openurl
  Title Means-means-end tool choice in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus): finding the limits on primates' knowledge of tools Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 8 Issue (down) 4 Pages 236-246  
  Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Choice Behavior; Female; Male; *Problem Solving; Saguinus/*psychology  
  Abstract Most studies of animal tool use require subjects to use one object to gain access to a food reward. In many real world situations, however, animals perform more than one action in sequence to achieve their goals. Of theoretical interest is whether animals have the cognitive capacity to recognize the relationship between consecutive action sequences in which there may be one overall goal and several subgoals. Here we ask if cotton-top tamarins, a species that in captivity uses tools to solve means-end problems, can go one step further and use a sequence of tools (means) to obtain food (end). We first trained subjects to use a pulling tool to obtain a food reward. After this initial training, subjects were presented with problems in which one tool had to be used in combination with a second in order to obtain food. Subjects showed great difficulty when two tools were required to obtain the food reward. Although subjects attended to the connection between the tool and food reward, they ignored the physical connection between the two tools. After training on a two-tool problem, we presented subjects with a series of transfer tests to explore if they would generalize to new types of connections between the tools. Subjects readily transferred to new connections. Our results therefore provide the first evidence to date that tamarins can learn to solve problems involving two tools, but that they do so only with sufficient training.  
  Address Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. laurie.santos@yale.edu  
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  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15668762 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2495  
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Author Evans, T.A.; Westergaard, G.C. doi  openurl
  Title Discrimination of functionally appropriate and inappropriate throwing tools by captive tufted capuchins (Cebus apella) Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 7 Issue (down) 4 Pages 255-262  
  Keywords Animals; Appetitive Behavior; Cebus/*psychology; Choice Behavior; *Concept Formation; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Male; *Problem Solving; *Psychomotor Performance; Recognition (Psychology)  
  Abstract A tool-throwing task was used to test whether capuchin monkeys understand the difference between functionally appropriate and functionally inappropriate tools. A group of monkeys was trained to obtain a sticky treat from a container outside their enclosure using a projectile attached to one end of an anchored line. Subsequently, these monkeys were given choice tests between functional and nonfunctional versions of tools used in training. A different feature of the tool was varied between alternatives in each choice test. The monkeys chose to use functional tools significantly more often than nonfunctional tools in early exposures to each choice test. A second experiment tested whether these subjects, as well as a second group of minimally trained participants, could distinguish between functional and nonfunctional tools that appeared different from those used in training. A new set of design features was varied between tools in these choice tests. All participants continued to choose functional tools significantly more often than nonfunctional tools, regardless of their tool-throwing experience or the novel appearance of the tools. These results suggest that capuchin monkeys, like chimpanzees studied in similar experiments, are sensitive to a variety of functionally relevant tool features.  
  Address Alpha Genesis Inc., 95 Castle Hall Road, P.O. Box 557, Yemassee, SC 29945, USA. teprimate@islc.net  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15138849 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2523  
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Author Jackson, R.R.; Li, D. doi  openurl
  Title One-encounter search-image formation by araneophagic spiders Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 7 Issue (down) 4 Pages 247-254  
  Keywords Animals; Appetitive Behavior; *Association Learning; *Attention; Choice Behavior; Field Dependence-Independence; *Food Preferences; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; *Predatory Behavior; Signal Detection (Psychology); *Spiders  
  Abstract An experimental study of search-image use by araneophagic jumping spiders (i.e., salticid spiders that prey routinely on other spiders) supports five conclusions. First, araneophagic salticids have an innate predisposition to form search images for specific prey from their preferred prey category (spiders) rather than for prey from a non-preferred category (insects). Second, single encounters are sufficient for forming search images. Third, search images are based on selective attention specifically to optical cues. Fourth, there are trade-offs in attention during search-image use (i.e., forming a search image for one type of spider diminishes the araneophagic salticid's attention to other spiders). Fifth, the araneophagic salticid's adoption of search images is costly to the prey (i.e., when the araneophagic salticid adopts a search, the prey's prospects for surviving encounters with the araneophagic salticid are diminished). Cognitive and ecological implications of search-image use are discussed.  
  Address Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117543, Singapore. dbslidq@nus.edu.sg  
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  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15118915 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2524  
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Author Hampton, R.R.; Zivin, A.; Murray, E.A. doi  openurl
  Title Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) discriminate between knowing and not knowing and collect information as needed before acting Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 7 Issue (down) 4 Pages 239-246  
  Keywords Animals; Association Learning; *Awareness; Choice Behavior; *Concept Formation; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Macaca mulatta/*psychology; Male; *Memory, Short-Term; Observation  
  Abstract Humans use memory awareness to determine whether relevant knowledge is available before acting, as when we determine whether we know a phone number before dialing. Such metacognition, or thinking about thinking, can improve selection of appropriate behavior. We investigated whether rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta) are capable of a simple form of metacognitive access to the contents of short-term memory. Monkeys chose among four opaque tubes, one of which concealed food. The tube containing the reward varied randomly from trial to trial. On half the trials the monkeys observed the experimenter baiting the tube, whereas on the remaining trials their view of the baiting was blocked. On each trial, monkeys were allowed a single chance to select the tube containing the reward. During the choice period the monkeys had the opportunity to look down the length of each tube, to determine if it contained food. When they knew the location of the reward, most monkeys chose without looking. In contrast, when ignorant, monkeys often made the effort required to look, thereby learning the location of the reward before choosing. Looking improved accuracy on trials on which monkeys had not observed the baiting. The difference in looking behavior between trials on which the monkeys knew, and trials on which they were ignorant, suggests that rhesus monkeys discriminate between knowing and not knowing. This result extends similar observations made of children and apes to a species of Old World monkey, suggesting that the underlying cognitive capacities may be widely distributed among primates.  
  Address Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-4415, USA. robert@ln.nimh.nih.gov  
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  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:15105996 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2525  
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Author Waite, T.A. doi  openurl
  Title Interruptions improve choice performance in gray jays: prolonged information processing versus minimization of costly errors Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 5 Issue (down) 4 Pages 209-214  
  Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Choice Behavior; Female; Learning; Male; Models, Biological; Motivation; Reinforcement Schedule; Songbirds/*physiology; Time Factors  
  Abstract Under the assumption that selection favors minimization of costly errors, erroneous choice may be common when its fitness cost is low. According to an adaptive-choice model, this cost depends on the rate at which an animal encounters the choice: the higher this rate, the smaller the cost of choosing a less valuable option. Errors should thus be more common when interruptions to foraging are shorter. A previous experiment supported this prediction: gray jays, Perisoreus canadensis, were more error prone when subjected to shorter delays to access to food rewards. This pattern, though, is also predicted by an attentional-constraints model. Because the subjects were able to inspect the rewards during delays, their improved performance when subjected to longer delays could have been a byproduct of the experimentally prolonged opportunity for information processing. To evaluate this possibility, a follow-up experiment manipulated both delay to access and whether rewards could be inspected during delays. Depriving jays of the opportunity to inspect rewards (using opaque lids) induced only a small, nonsignificant increase in error rate. This effect was independent of length of delay and so the jays' improved performance when subjected to longer delays was not simply a byproduct of prolonged information processing. More definitively, even when the jays were prevented from inspecting rewards during delays, their performance improved when subjected to longer delays. The findings are thus consistent with the adaptive-choice model.  
  Address Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, 1735 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1293, USA. waite.1@osu.edu  
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  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:12461598 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2592  
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Author Fagot, J.; Wasserman, E.A.; Young, M.E. openurl 
  Title Discriminating the relation between relations: the role of entropy in abstract conceptualization by baboons (Papio papio) and humans (Homo sapiens) Type Journal Article
  Year 2001 Publication Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process  
  Volume 27 Issue (down) 4 Pages 316-328  
  Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal; Choice Behavior; Cognition/physiology; *Discrimination (Psychology); Discrimination Learning; *Entropy; Female; Humans; Judgment/*physiology; Male; Papio  
  Abstract Two baboons (Papio papio) successfully learned relational matching-to-sample: They picked the choice display that involved the same relation among 16 pictures (same or different) as the sample display, although the sample display shared no pictures with the choice displays. The baboons generalized relational matching behavior to sample displays created from novel pictures. Further experiments varying the number of sample pictures and the mixture of same and different sample pictures suggested that entropy plays a key role in the baboons' conceptual behavior. Two humans (Homo sapiens) were similarly trained and tested; their behavior was both similar to and different from the baboons' behavior. The results suggest that animals other than humans and chimpanzees can discriminate the relation between relations. They further suggest that entropy detection may underlie same-different conceptualization, but that additional processes may participate in human conceptualization.  
  Address Comparative Cognition Research Group, Center for Research in Cognitive Neurosciences, 31 Chemin Joseph Aiguier, 13402 Marseille, France. fagot@lnf.cnrs-mrs.fr  
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  ISSN 0097-7403 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:11676083 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2772  
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Author Brosnan, S.F.; de Waal, F.B.M. doi  openurl
  Title Responses to a simple barter task in chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Primates Abbreviated Journal Primates  
  Volume 46 Issue (down) 3 Pages 173-182  
  Keywords Analysis of Variance; Animals; Choice Behavior/*physiology; Conditioning (Psychology)/physiology; Learning/*physiology; Pan troglodytes/*physiology; Reward; Sex Factors; *Social Behavior; *Token Economy  
  Abstract Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) frequently participate in social exchange involving multiple goods and services of variable value, yet they have not been tested in a formalized situation to see whether they can barter using multiple tokens and rewards. We set up a simple barter economy with two tokens and two associated rewards and tested chimpanzees on their ability to obtain rewards by returning the matching token in situations in which their access to tokens was unlimited or limited. Chimpanzees easily learned to associate value with the tokens, as expected, and did barter, but followed a simple strategy of favoring the higher-value token, regardless of the reward proffered, instead of a more complex but more effective strategy of returning the token that matched the reward. This response is similar to that shown by capuchin monkeys in our previous study. We speculate that this response, while not ideal, may be sufficient to allow for stability of the social exchange system in these primates, and that the importance of social barter to both species may have led to this convergence of strategies.  
  Address Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. sbrosna@emory.edu  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0032-8332 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:15824938 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 167  
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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 (down) 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 Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA  
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  ISSN 0376-6357 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:15518990 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 227  
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Author Zentall, T.R.; Kaiser, D.H.; Clement, T.S.; Weaver, J.E.; Campbell, G. openurl 
  Title Presence/absence-sample matching by pigeons: divergent retention functions may result from the similarity of behavior during the absence sample and the retention interval Type Journal Article
  Year 2000 Publication Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process  
  Volume 26 Issue (down) 3 Pages 294-304  
  Keywords Analysis of Variance; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Choice Behavior; *Columbidae; *Conditioning, Operant; Cues  
  Abstract Divergent choose-absence retention functions typically found in pigeons following presence/absence-sample matching have been attributed to the development of a single-code/default coding strategy. However, such effects may result from adventitious differential responding to the samples. In Experiment 1, retention functions were divergent only when differential sample responding could serve as the basis for comparison choice. In Experiment 2, when pecking did not occur during the retention interval, a choose-absence bias was found, but when pecking occurred during the retention interval, a choose-presence bias resulted. In Experiment 3, positive transfer was found when a stimulus associated with the absence of pecking replaced the absence sample but not when a stimulus associated with pecking replaced the presence sample. Thus, presence/absence-sample matching may not encourage the development of a single-code/default coding strategy in pigeons.  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506, USA. zentall@pop.uky.edu  
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  ISSN 0097-7403 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:10913994 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 247  
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Author Zentall, T.R.; Hogan, D.E.; Edwards, C.A.; Hearst, E. openurl 
  Title Oddity learning in the pigeon as a function of the number of incorrect alternatives Type Journal Article
  Year 1980 Publication Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process  
  Volume 6 Issue (down) 3 Pages 278-299  
  Keywords Animals; Choice Behavior; *Color Perception; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning  
  Abstract Pigeons' rate of learning a two-color oddity task increased as a function of the number of incorrect alternatives from 2 to 24 in Experiments 1, 2, and 3. In general, pigeons that were transferred from many-incorrect-alternative to two-incorrect-alternative oddity performed better than controls, but considerably below baseline (Experiments 2 and 3). In Experiment 4, pigeons showed no unconditioned tendency to peck the odd stimulus among 24 incorect alternatives, when pecks were nondifferentially reinforced, and in Experiment 5, when this procedure was preceded by oddity training, a progressive drop in odd-stimulus pecking was found. In Experiment 6, pigeons exposed to a nine-stimulus array in which the odd stimulus appeared (a) in the center or (b) separate from the array learned faster than when the odd stimulus was at the edge. This outcome suggests ththe figure-ground relation between the odd stimulus and the incorrect alternatives plays a role in the facilitation produced by increasing the number of incorrect alternatives but that poor performance on the standard, three-alternative oddity task appears to be due to center-odd trials which provide a difficult size or number discrimination.  
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  ISSN 0097-7403 ISBN Medium  
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  Notes PMID:7391753 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 268  
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