| Records |
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 |
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English |
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| ISSN |
1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15449101 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2509 |
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| Author |
Gibson, B.M.; Shettleworth, S.J. |
| Title |
Place versus response learning revisited: tests of blocking on the radial maze |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Behavioral neuroscience |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav Neurosci |
| Volume |
119 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
567-586 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; Male; *Maze Learning; Memory; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Reproducibility of Results |
| Abstract |
Neurobiological and behavioral research indicates that place learning and response learning occur simultaneously, in parallel. Such findings seem to conflict with theories of associative learning in which different cues compete for learning. The authors conducted place+response training on a radial maze and then tested place learning and response learning separately by reconfiguring the maze in various ways. Consistent with the effects of manipulating place and response systems in the brain (M. G. Packard & J. L. McGaugh, 1996), well-trained rats showed strong place learning and strong response learning. Three experiments using associative blocking paradigms indicated that prior response learning interferes with place learning. Blocking and related tests can be used to better understand how memory systems interact during learning. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824-3567, USA. bgibson@cisunix.unh.edu |
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0735-7044 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15839803 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
362 |
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| Author |
Gibson, B.M.; Shettleworth, S.J. |
| Title |
Competition among spatial cues in a naturalistic food-carrying task |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Learning & behavior : a Psychonomic Society publication |
Abbreviated Journal |
Learn Behav |
| Volume |
31 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
143-159 |
| Keywords |
Adaptation, Psychological; Animals; Appetitive Behavior; *Association Learning; *Attention; Choice Behavior; *Cues; *Discrimination Learning; Male; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Space Perception; *Spatial Behavior |
| Abstract |
Rats collected nuts from a container in a large arena in four experiments testing how learning about a beacon or cue at a goal interacts with learning about other spatial cues (place learning). Place learning was quick, with little evidence of competition from the beacon (Experiments 1 and 2). Rats trained to approach a beacon regardless of its location were subsequently impaired when the well-learned beacon was removed and other spatial cues identified the location of the goal (Experiment 3). The competition between beacon and place cues reflected learned irrelevance for place cues (Experiment 4). The findings differ from those of some studies of associative interactions between cue and place learning in other paradigms. |
| Address |
University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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English |
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1543-4494 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12882373 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
368 |
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| Author |
Held, S.; Baumgartner, J.; Kilbride, A.; Byrne, R.W.; Mendl, M. |
| Title |
Foraging behaviour in domestic pigs (Sus scrofa): remembering and prioritizing food sites of different value |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
8 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
114-121 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Appetitive Behavior; *Association Learning; Feeding Behavior/*psychology; Female; *Space Perception; Sus scrofa/*psychology |
| Abstract |
This experiment investigated whether domestic pigs can remember the locations of food sites of different relative value, and how a restricted retrieval choice affects their foraging behaviour. Nine juvenile female pigs were trained to relocate two food sites out of a possible eight in a spatial memory task. The two baited sites contained different amounts of food and an obstacle was added to the smaller amount to increase handling time. On each trial, a pig searched for the two baited sites (search visit). Once it had found and eaten the bait, it returned for a second (relocation) visit, in which the two same sites were baited. Baited sites were changed between trials. All subjects learnt the task. When allowed to retrieve both baits, the subjects showed no preference for retrieving a particular one first (experiment 1). When they were allowed to retrieve only one bait, a significant overall preference for retrieving the larger amount emerged across subjects (experiment 2). To test whether this preference reflected an avoidance of the obstacle with the smaller bait, 15 choice-restricted control trials were conducted. In control trials obstacles were present with both baits. Pigs continued to retrieve the larger bait, indicating they had discriminated between the two food sites on the basis of quantity or profitability and adjusted their behaviour accordingly when the relocation choice was restricted. This suggests for the first time that domestic pigs have the ability to discriminate between food sites of different relative value and to remember their respective locations. |
| Address |
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, Centre for Behavioural Biology, University of Bristol, Langford, BS40 5DU, UK. suzanne.held@bris.ac.uk |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15871038 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2487 |
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| Author |
Henderson, J.; Hurly, T.A.; Healy, S.D. |
| Title |
Spatial relational learning in rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
9 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
201-205 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; *Birds; *Concept Formation; Flowers; Form Perception; Male; *Orientation; Reward; Size Perception; *Space Perception; Spatial Behavior |
| Abstract |
There is increasing evidence that animals can learn abstract spatial relationships, and successfully transfer this knowledge to novel situations. In this study, rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) were trained to feed from either the lower or the higher of two flowers. When presented with a test pair of flowers, one of which was at a novel height, they chose the flower in the appropriate spatial position rather than the flower at the correct height. This response may also have been influenced by a preference for taller flowers as acquisition of the task during experimental training occurred more readily when the reward flower was the taller of the pair. Thus, it appears that although learning abstract relationships may be a general phenomenon across contexts, and perhaps across species, the ease with which they are learned and the context in which they are subsequently used may not be the same. |
| Address |
Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, UK |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16767469 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2465 |
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| Author |
Jackson, R.R.; Li, D. |
| Title |
One-encounter search-image formation by araneophagic spiders |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
7 |
Issue |
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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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15118915 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2524 |
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| Author |
O'Connell, S.; Dunbar, R.I.M. |
| Title |
The perception of causality in chimpanzees (Pan spp.) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
8 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
60-66 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; Awareness; *Concept Formation; Female; *Habituation, Psychophysiologic; Male; Pan paniscus/*psychology; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Perception |
| Abstract |
Chimpanzees (Pan spp.) were tested on a habituation/dishabituation paradigm that was originally developed to test for comprehension of causality in very young human infants. Three versions of the test were used: a food item being moved by a hand, a human pushing another human off a chair to obtain a food item, and a film clip of natural chimpanzee behaviour (capturing and eating a monkey). Chimpanzees exhibited similar results to those obtained with human infants, with significantly elevated levels of looking on the dishabituation trials. Since the level of response was significantly greater on natural/unnatural sequences than on unnatural/natural sequences, we conclude that the chimpanzees were not responding just to novelty but rather to events that infringed their sense of natural causation. |
| Address |
Evolutionary Psychology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Biosciences Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15322943 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2514 |
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| Author |
Osthaus, B.; Lea, S.E.G.; Slater, A.M. |
| Title |
Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) fail to show understanding of means-end connections in a string-pulling task |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
8 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
37-47 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; *Cognition; Dogs/*psychology; *Problem Solving |
| Abstract |
Domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) were tested in four experiments for their understanding of means-end connections. In each of the experiments, the dogs attempted to retrieve a food treat that could be seen behind a barrier and which was connected, via string, to a within-reach wooden block. In the experiments, either one or two strings were present, but the treat was attached only to one string. Successful retrieval of the treat required the animals to pull the appropriate string (either by pawing or by grasping the wooden block in their jaws) until the treat emerged from under the barrier. The results showed that the dogs were successful if the treat was in a perpendicular line to the barrier, i.e. straight ahead, but not when the string was at an angle: in the latter condition, the typical response was a proximity error in that the dogs pawed or mouthed at a location closest in line to the treat. When two strings that crossed were present, the dogs tended to pull on the wrong string. The combined results from the experiments show that, although dogs can learn to pull on a string to obtain food, they do not spontaneously understand means-end connections involving strings. |
| Address |
School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK. b.osthaus@exeter.ac.uk |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15338446 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2513 |
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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 @ |
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355 |
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| Author |
Pepperberg, I.M. |
| Title |
“Insightful” string-pulling in Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) is affected by vocal competence |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
7 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
263-266 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; *Discrimination Learning; Humans; Male; *Parrots; *Problem Solving; Verbal Behavior; Verbal Learning; *Vocalization, Animal |
| Abstract |
Four Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) were tested on their ability to obtain an item suspended from a string such that mutiple, repeated, coordinated beak-foot actions were required for success (e.g., Heinrich 1995). Those birds with little training in referential English requests (e.g. “I want X”) succeeded, whereas birds who could request the suspended item failed to obtain the object but engaged in repeated requesting. |
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MIT School of Architecture and Planning, Bldg 7-231, 77 Massachusetts Ave, MA 02139, Cambridge, USA. impepper@media.mit.edu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:15045620 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2537 |
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