toggle visibility Search & Display Options

Select All    Deselect All
 |   | 
Details
   print
  Records Links
Author (up) Gray, E.R.; Spetch, M.L. url  openurl
  Title Pigeons Encode Absolute Distance but Relational Direction From Landmarks and Walls Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 32 Issue 4 Pages 474-480  
  Keywords spatial cognition; absolute distance; relational direction; landmark configurations  
  Abstract In recent studies, researchers have examined animals' use of absolute or relational distances in finding a hidden goal. When trained with an array of landmarks, most animals use the default strategy of searching at an absolute distance from 1 or more landmarks. In contrast, when trained in enclosures, animals often use the relationship among walls. In the present study, pigeons were trained to find the center of an array of landmarks or a set of short walls that did not block external cues. Expansion tests showed that both groups of pigeons primarily used an absolute distance strategy. However, on rotational tests, pigeons continued to search in the center of the array, suggesting that direction was learned in relation to array.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2894  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (up) Kelly, D.M.; Spetch, M.L. openurl 
  Title Pigeons encode relative geometry Type Journal Article
  Year 2001 Publication Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process  
  Volume 27 Issue 4 Pages 417-422  
  Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Cognition/*physiology; Columbidae; Discrimination Learning/physiology; Form Perception/*physiology; Space Perception/*physiology  
  Abstract Pigeons were trained to search for hidden food in a rectangular environment designed to eliminate any external cues. Following training, the authors administered unreinforced test trials in which the geometric properties of the apparatus were manipulated. During tests that preserved the relative geometry but altered the absolute geometry of the environment, the pigeons continued to choose the geometrically correct corners, indicating that they encoded the relative geometry of the enclosure. When tested in a square enclosure, which distorted both the absolute and relative geometry, the pigeons randomly chose among the 4 corners, indicating that their choices were not based on cues external to the apparatus. This study provides new insight into how metric properties of an environment are encoded by pigeons.  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E9. kelly@bio.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0097-7403 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:11676090 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2770  
Permanent link to this record
Select All    Deselect All
 |   | 
Details
   print