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Author Zentall, T.R.; Riley, D.A.
Title Selective attention in animal discrimination learning Type Journal Article
Year 2000 Publication The Journal of general psychology Abbreviated Journal J Gen Psychol
Volume 127 Issue 1 Pages 45-66
Keywords Animals; Attention/*physiology; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Conditioning (Psychology)/physiology; Cues; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Generalization, Response; Rats
Abstract The traditional approach to the study of selective attention in animal discrimination learning has been to ask if animals are capable of the central selective processing of stimuli, such that certain aspects of the discriminative stimuli are partially or wholly ignored while their relationships to each other, or other relevant stimuli, are processed. A notable characteristic of this research has been that procedures involve the acquisition of discriminations, and the issue of concern is whether learning is selectively determined by the stimulus dimension defined by the discriminative stimuli. Although there is support for this kind of selective attention, in many cases, simpler nonattentional accounts are sufficient to explain the results. An alternative approach involves procedures more similar to those used in human information-processing research. When selective attention is studied in humans, it generally involves the steady state performance of tasks for which there is limited time allowed for stimulus input and a relatively large amount of relevant information to be processed; thus, attention must be selective or divided. When this approach is applied to animals and alternative accounts have been ruled out, stronger evidence for selective or divided attention in animals has been found. Similar processes are thought to be involved when animals search more natural environments for targets. Finally, an attempt is made to distinguish these top-down attentional processes from more automatic preattentional processes that have been studied in humans and other animals.
Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506, USA. Zentall@pop.uky.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor (up) Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0022-1309 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:10695951 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 250
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Author Zentall, T.R.; Jackson-Smith, P.; Jagielo, J.A.; Nallan, G.B.
Title Categorical shape and color coding by pigeons Type Journal Article
Year 1986 Publication Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process
Volume 12 Issue 2 Pages 153-159
Keywords Animals; *Color Perception; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning; *Form Perception; *Generalization, Stimulus; Psychophysics; Transfer (Psychology)
Abstract Categorical coding is the tendency to respond similarly to discriminated stimuli. Past research indicates that pigeons can categorize colors according to at least three spectral regions. Two present experiments assessed the categorical coding of shapes and the existence of a higher order color category (all colors). Pigeons were trained on two independent tasks (matching-to-sample, and oddity-from-sample). One task involved red and a plus sign, the other a circle and green. On test trials one of the two comparison stimuli from one task was replaced by one of the stimuli from the other task. Differential performance based on which of the two stimuli from the other task was introduced suggested categorical coding rules. In Experiment 1 evidence for the categorical coding of sample shapes was found. Categorical color coding was also found; however, it was the comparison stimuli rather than the samples that were categorically coded. Experiment 2 replicated the categorical shape sample effect and ruled out the possibility that the particular colors used were responsible for the categorical coding of comparison stimuli. Overall, the results indicate that pigeons can develop categorical rules involving shapes and colors and that the color categories can be hierarchical.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor (up) Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0097-7403 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:3701264 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 262
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Author Watanabe, S.; Troje, N.F.
Title Towards a “virtual pigeon”: a new technique for investigating avian social perception Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 271-279
Keywords Animals; Behavioral Research/instrumentation/methods; Columbidae/*physiology; Computer Graphics; *Computer Simulation; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Generalization (Psychology)/*physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology; Perceptual Masking/physiology; Rats; Recognition (Psychology)/physiology; *Social Behavior; User-Computer Interface
Abstract The purpose of the present study is to examine the applicability of a computer-generated, virtual animal to study animal cognition. Pigeons were trained to discriminate between movies of a real pigeon and a rat. Then, they were tested with movies of the computer-generated (CG) pigeon. Subjects showed generalization to the CG pigeon, however, they also responded to modified versions in which the CG pigeon was showing impossible movement, namely hopping and walking without its head bobbing. Hence, the pigeons did not attend to these particular details of the display. When they were trained to discriminate between the normal and the modified version of the CG pigeon, they were able to learn the discrimination. The results of an additional partial occlusion test suggest that the subjects used head movement as a cue for the usual vs. unusual CG pigeon discrimination.
Address Department of Psychology, Keio University, Mita 2-15-45, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108, Japan. swat@flet.keio.ac.jp
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor (up) Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17024508 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2437
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Author Benard, J.; Stach, S.; Giurfa, M.
Title Categorization of visual stimuli in the honeybee Apis mellifera Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 257-270
Keywords Animals; Bees/*physiology; Classification; Cognition/*physiology; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Generalization, Stimulus/physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology; Photic Stimulation; Transfer (Psychology)/*physiology; Visual Perception/*physiology
Abstract Categorization refers to the classification of perceptual input into defined functional groups. We present and discuss evidence suggesting that stimulus categorization can also be found in an invertebrate, the honeybee Apis mellifera, thus underlining the generality across species of this cognitive process. Honeybees show positive transfer of appropriate responding from a trained to a novel set of visual stimuli. Such a transfer was demonstrated for specific isolated features such as symmetry or orientation, but also for assemblies (layouts) of features. Although transfer from training to novel stimuli can be achieved by stimulus generalization of the training stimuli, most of these transfer tests involved clearly distinguishable stimuli for which generalization would be reduced. Though in most cases specific experimental controls such as stimulus balance and discriminability are still required, it seems appropriate to characterize the performance of honeybees as reflecting categorization. Further experiments should address the issue of which categorization theory accounts better for the visual performances of honeybees.
Address Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (UMR 5169), CNRS – Universite Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse cedex 4, France
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor (up) Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16909238 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2446
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Author Koba, R.; Izumi, A.
Title Sex categorization of conspecific pictures in Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 9 Issue 3 Pages 183-191
Keywords Animals; Conditioning, Operant; *Discrimination (Psychology); Female; *Generalization (Psychology); Macaca/*psychology; Male; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; Photography; Recognition (Psychology); *Sex Characteristics
Abstract We investigated whether monkeys discriminate the sex of individuals from their pictures. Whole-body pictures of adult and nonadult monkeys were used as stimuli. Two male Japanese monkeys were trained for a two-choice sex categorization task in which each of two choice pictures were assigned to male and female, respectively. Following the training, the monkeys were presented with novel monkey pictures, and whether they had acquired the categorization task was tested. The results suggested that while monkeys discriminate between the pictures of adult males and females, discrimination of nonadult pictures was difficult. Partial presentations of the pictures showed that conspicuous and sexually characteristic parts (i.e., underbellies including male scrotums or breasts including female nipples) played an important role in the sex categorization.
Address Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kanrin 41, Inuyama, 484-8506, Japan
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor (up) Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16612631 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2470
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Author Gazit, I.; Goldblatt, A.; Terkel, J.
Title The role of context specificity in learning: the effects of training context on explosives detection in dogs Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 8 Issue 3 Pages 143-150
Keywords Animals; *Association Learning; Conditioning, Classical; *Discrimination Learning; Dogs; *Environment; *Generalization, Stimulus; *Smell
Abstract Various experiments revealed that if an animal learns a stimulus-response-reinforcer relationship in one context and is then tested in another context there is usually a lessening of stimulus control, and the same discriminative stimuli that reliably controlled the behavior in the first context will have less effect in the new context. This reduction in performance is known as the “context shift effect.” The effect of changing context on the probability of detecting explosives was investigated in seven highly trained explosives detection dogs (EDDs). In experiment 1 the dogs were trained alternately on path A, which always had five hidden explosives, and on a very similar path B, which never had any explosives. Within a few sessions the dogs showed a significant decrease in search behavior on path B, but not on path A. In experiment 2 the same dogs were trained only on path B with a target density of one explosive hidden every 4th day. The probability of the dogs now detecting the explosive was found to be significantly lower than in experiment 1. In experiment 3 the effect of the low target density as used in experiment 2 was investigated on a new but very similar path C. Both the detection probability for the one explosive every 4th day on the new path and the motivation to search were significantly higher than found in experiment 2. Finally, in experiment 4, an attempt was made to recondition the dogs to search on path B. Although trained for 12 daily sessions with one explosive hidden every session, the dogs failed to regain the normal levels of motivation they had shown on both new paths and on the paths that they knew usually contained explosives. The findings reveal that even a very intensively trained EDD will rapidly learn that a specific stretch of path does not contain explosives. The dog will then be less motivated to search and will miss newly placed targets. This learning is specific to the formerly always-clean path and is to some extent irreversible. However, the dog will search and detect normally on new paths even if they are very similar to the always-clean path. The data are discussed in terms of variables affecting renewal. The results suggest that following training designed to make a behavior “context independent,” any extinction training will not generalize beyond that specific context used during the extinction training. In addition, if the behavior is extinguished in a specific context, it will be very difficult to restore that behavior in that context. These conclusions should be considered by anyone attempting to extinguish well-established trans-context behaviors.
Address Department of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel. iritgazi@post.tau.ac.il
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor (up) Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15449101 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2509
Permanent link to this record
 
 
Author Yamazaki, Y.; Shinohara, N.; Watanabe, S.
Title Visual discrimination of normal and drug induced behavior in quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages 128-132
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/*drug effects; Classification; Coturnix/*physiology; *Discrimination Learning; *Generalization (Psychology); Ketamine/pharmacology; Male; Methamphetamine/pharmacology; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; Video Recording; Visual Perception
Abstract The ability to discriminate the physical states of others could be an adaptive behavior, especially for social animals. For example, the ability to discriminate illness behavior would be helpful for avoiding spoiled foods. We report on an experiment with Japanese quails testing whether these birds can discriminate the physical states of conspecifics. The quails were trained to discriminate between moving video images of quails injected with psychoactive drugs and those in a normal (not injected) condition. Methamphetamine (stimulant) or ketamine (anesthetic) were used to produce drug-induced behaviors in conspecifics. The former induced hyperactive behavior and the latter hypoactive behavior. The subject quails could learn the discrimination and showed generalization to novel images of the drug-induced behaviors. They did not, however, show discriminative behavior according to the type and dosage of the drugs. Thus, they categorized the behavior not on the basis of degree of activity, but on the basis of abnormality.
Address Biopsychologie, Institut fur Kognitive Neurowissenschaft, Fakultat fur Psychologie, Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany. yumyam@bio.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor (up) Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15069613 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2527
Permanent link to this record
 
 
Author Aust, U.; Huber, L.
Title Picture-object recognition in pigeons: evidence of representational insight in a visual categorization task using a complementary information procedure Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process
Volume 32 Issue 2 Pages 190-195
Keywords Animals; Classification; *Cognition; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning; *Form Perception; *Generalization (Psychology); Humans; Perceptual Closure; Photic Stimulation; Photography; *Recognition (Psychology)
Abstract Success in tasks requiring categorization of pictorial stimuli does not prove that a subject understands what the pictures stand for. The ability to achieve representational insight is by no means a trivial one because it exceeds mere detection of 2-D features present in both the pictorial images and their referents. So far, evidence for such an ability in nonhuman species is weak and inconclusive. Here, the authors report evidence of representational insight in pigeons. After being trained on pictures of incomplete human figures, the birds responded significantly more to pictures of the previously missing parts than to nonrepresentative stimuli, which demonstrates that they actually recognized the pictures' representational content.
Address Department for Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition, University of Vienna, Austria. ulrike.aust@univie.ac.at
Corporate Author Thesis
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor (up) Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0097-7403 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16634663 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2759
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Author Washburn, D.A.; Smith, J.D.; Shields, W.E.
Title Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) immediately generalize the uncertain response Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process
Volume 32 Issue 2 Pages 185-189
Keywords Adaptation, Psychological; Animals; *Cognition; *Discrimination Learning; *Generalization (Psychology); Macaca mulatta/*psychology; Male; *Uncertainty
Abstract Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) have learned, like humans, to use an uncertain response adaptively under test conditions that create uncertainty, suggesting a metacognitive process by which human and nonhuman primates may monitor their confidence and alter their behavior accordingly. In this study, 4 rhesus monkeys generalized their use of the uncertain response, without additional training, to 2 familiar tasks (2-choice discrimination learning and mirror-image matching to sample) that predictably and demonstrably produce uncertainty. The monkeys were significantly less likely to use the uncertain response on trials in which the answer might be known. These results indicate that monkeys, like humans, know when they do not know and that they can learn to use a symbol as a generalized means for indicating their uncertainty.
Address Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, 30303, USA. dwashhburn@gsu.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor (up) Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0097-7403 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16634662 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2760
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Author Brannon, E.M.; Cantlon, J.F.; Terrace, H.S.
Title The role of reference points in ordinal numerical comparisons by rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process
Volume 32 Issue 2 Pages 120-134
Keywords Animals; *Cognition; *Discrimination (Psychology); *Generalization (Psychology); Macaca mulatta/*psychology; Male; Mathematics; *Pattern Recognition, Visual
Abstract Two experiments examined ordinal numerical knowledge in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Experiment 1 replicated the finding (E. M. Brannon & H. S. Terrace, 2000) that monkeys trained to respond in descending numerical order (4-->3-->2-->1) did not generalize the descending rule to the novel values 5-9 in contrast to monkeys trained to respond in ascending order. Experiment 2 examined whether the failure to generalize a descending rule was due to the direction of the training sequence or to the specific values used in the training sequence. Results implicated 3 factors that characterize a monkey's numerical comparison process: Weber's law, knowledge of ordinal direction, and a comparison of each value in a test pair with the reference point established by the first value of the training sequence.
Address Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. brannon@duke.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor (up) Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0097-7403 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16634655 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2761
Permanent link to this record