| Records |
Author  |
VanDierendonck, M.C. |
| Title |
General Discussion |
Type |
Manuscript |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
The Importance of Social Relationships in Horses |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
Chapter 7 |
Issue |
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Pages |
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| Keywords |
Feral horses are social animals, which have to rely on survival strategies centered on the formation of cohesive social bonds within their bands. Many problems in the husbandry of social animals such as horses, are due to the fact that the limits of their adaptive abilities are exceeded. Evidence suggests that the fundamental social characteristics of domestic horses have remained relatively unchanged. The social structure, social strategies and social interactions were investigated (3 non-consecutive years, 24 hr per day for several weeks) in long term established groups of domestic horses (mares and geldings of all ages) and a few small introduced groups, kept in (semi)natural environments. The general aim was to investigate the social needs of domestic horses. The social life of domestic horses was characterised by long lasting bonds with preferred partners which were established and maintained by allogrooming, play, proximity and dominance behaviours. Bonding partners were mainly found within the same sex-age group, but adult geldings also bonded with sub-adult mares and geldings. Adult mares were clustered in a group, while the other animals formed a second group. Among the adult mares, subgroups according to reproductive state were formed. Individuals regulated their social network by interfering with interactions between other members of the herd, which in itself is complex. An intervention is a behavioural action of one animal that actively interferes with an ongoing interaction between a dyad with the apparent aim of altering that interaction. This was verified by post-hoc analyses of disturbed and undisturbed interactions. Interventions in allogrooming or play were performed significantly more often when at least one member of the initial dyad was a preferred partner of, or familiar to (within the small introduced bands) the intervener. The stronger the preferred association in allogrooming between the intervener and member(s) of the initial dyad, the higher the probability the intervener would displace one initial member and continue allogrooming with the other. Just five behaviours were extracted which reliably reflected the dominance relations among horses. Aggression with the hind quarters was used both offensively and defensively and therefore not suitable as a reliable parameter. Individual dominance relationships were related to social experience. The implications of these findings for horse husbandry were assessed. It is argued that the execution of affiliative behaviours may be rewarding in itself, and therefore always will be a highly motivated behaviour. It is shown that social positive physical interactions (allogrooming, play) with other horses is an ethological need and therefore indispensable in modern husbandry systems. Ethological needs are so important for the animal that husbandry systems that lack the possibilities to execute such behaviours will cause chronic stress. It is concluded that all horses need physical social contact, and that horses, which lack appropriate social learning experiences during ontogeny, may be hampered in their social functioning later in life. Solutions for problems, including dominance problems, in individual social housing and group housing are presented. |
| Abstract |
Feral horses are social animals, which have to rely on survival strategies centered on the formation of cohesive social bonds within their bands. Many problems in the husbandry of social animals such as horses, are due to the fact that the limits of their adaptive abilities are exceeded. Evidence suggests that the fundamental social characteristics of domestic horses have remained relatively unchanged. The social structure, social strategies and social interactions were investigated (3 non-consecutive years, 24 hr per day for several weeks) in long term established groups of domestic horses (mares and geldings of all ages) and a few small introduced groups, kept in (semi)natural environments. The general aim was to investigate the social needs of domestic horses. The social life of domestic horses was characterised by long lasting bonds with preferred partners which were established and maintained by allogrooming, play, proximity and dominance behaviours. Bonding partners were mainly found within the same sex-age group, but adult geldings also bonded with sub-adult mares and geldings. Adult mares were clustered in a group, while the other animals formed a second group. Among the adult mares, subgroups according to reproductive state were formed. Individuals regulated their social network by interfering with interactions between other members of the herd, which in itself is complex. An intervention is a behavioural action of one animal that actively interferes with an ongoing interaction between a dyad with the apparent aim of altering that interaction. This was verified by post-hoc analyses of disturbed and undisturbed interactions. Interventions in allogrooming or play were performed significantly more often when at least one member of the initial dyad was a preferred partner of, or familiar to (within the small introduced bands) the intervener. The stronger the preferred association in allogrooming between the intervener and member(s) of the initial dyad, the higher the probability the intervener would displace one initial member and continue allogrooming with the other. Just five behaviours were extracted which reliably reflected the dominance relations among horses. Aggression with the hind quarters was used both offensively and defensively and therefore not suitable as a reliable parameter. Individual dominance relationships were related to social experience. The implications of these findings for horse husbandry were assessed. It is argued that the execution of affiliative behaviours may be rewarding in itself, and therefore always will be a highly motivated behaviour. It is shown that social positive physical interactions (allogrooming, play) with other horses is an ethological need and therefore indispensable in modern husbandry systems. Ethological needs are so important for the animal that husbandry systems that lack the possibilities to execute such behaviours will cause chronic stress. It is concluded that all horses need physical social contact, and that horses, which lack appropriate social learning experiences during ontogeny, may be hampered in their social functioning later in life. Solutions for problems, including dominance problems, in individual social housing and group housing are presented. |
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Place of Publication |
Universiteit Utrecht |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2372 |
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| Author |
Van Schaik, C. |
| Title |
Why are some animals so smart? |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Scientific American |
Abbreviated Journal |
Sci Am |
| Volume |
294 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
64-71 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Cognition; Conditioning (Psychology); Culture; Environment; Equipment and Supplies; Evolution; Indonesia; *Intelligence; Learning; Pongo pygmaeus/*physiology; Social Behavior |
| Abstract |
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| Address |
Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Switzerland |
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Place of Publication |
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English |
Summary Language |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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0036-8733 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16596881 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2830 |
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| Author |
van der Willigen, R.F.; Frost, B.J.; Wagner, H. |
| Title |
How owls structure visual information |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
6 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
39-55 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Cognition; Depth Perception; Discrimination Learning; Female; Male; *Strigiformes; *Visual Perception |
| Abstract |
Recent studies on perceptual organization in humans claim that the ability to represent a visual scene as a set of coherent surfaces is of central importance for visual cognition. We examined whether this surface representation hypothesis generalizes to a non-mammalian species, the barn owl ( Tyto alba). Discrimination transfer combined with random-dot stimuli provided the appropriate means for a series of two behavioural experiments with the specific aims of (1) obtaining psychophysical measurements of figure-ground segmentation in the owl, and (2) determining the nature of the information involved. In experiment 1, two owls were trained to indicate the presence or absence of a central planar surface (figure) among a larger region of random dots (ground) based on differences in texture. Without additional training, the owls could make the same discrimination when figure and ground had reversed luminance, or were camouflaged by the use of uniformly textured random-dot stereograms. In the latter case, the figure stands out in depth from the ground when positional differences of the figure in two retinal images are combined (binocular disparity). In experiment 2, two new owls were trained to distinguish three-dimensional objects from holes using random-dot kinematograms. These birds could make the same discrimination when information on surface segmentation was unexpectedly switched from relative motion to half-occlusion. In the latter case, stereograms were used that provide the impression of stratified surfaces to humans by giving unpairable image features to the eyes. The ability to use image features such as texture, binocular disparity, relative motion, and half-occlusion interchangeably to determine figure-ground relationships suggests that in owls, as in humans, the structuring of the visual scene critically depends on how indirect image information (depth order, occlusion contours) is allocated between different surfaces. |
| Address |
Institut fur Biologie II, RWTH Aachen, Kopernikusstrasse 16, 52074, Aachen, Germany. willigen@bio2.rwth-aachen.de |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:12658534 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2582 |
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| Author |
Valenchon, M.; Lévy, F.; Górecka-Bruzda, A.; Calandreau, L.; Lansade, L. |
| Title |
Characterization of long-term memory, resistance to extinction, and influence of temperament during two instrumental tasks in horses |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2013 |
Publication |
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Abbreviated Journal |
Animal Cognition |
| Volume |
16 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
1001-1006 |
| Keywords |
Personality; Learning; Individuality; Fearfulness; Equid; Cognitive flexibility |
| Abstract |
The present study investigated the influence of temperament on long-term recall and extinction of 2 instrumental tasks in 26 horses. In the first task (backward task), horses learned to walk backward, using commands given by an experimenter, in order to obtain a food reward. In the second task (active avoidance task), horses had to cross an obstacle after a bell rang in order to avoid emission of an air puff. Twenty-two months after acquisition, horses exhibited perfect recall performance in both tasks. Accordingly, no influence of temperament on recall performance could be observed for either task. In contrast, in the absence of positive or negative outcomes, the horses’ ability to extinguish their response to either task was highly variable. Resistance to extinction was related to some indicators of temperament: The most fearful horses tended to be the most resistant to extinction in the backward task, while the least sensitive horses tended to be the most resistant to extinction in the active avoidance task. These findings reveal extensive long-term memory abilities in horses and suggest an influence of temperament on learning processes other than acquisition. |
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Springer Berlin Heidelberg |
Place of Publication |
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English |
Summary Language |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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1435-9448 |
ISBN |
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Expedition |
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Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
5735 |
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| Author |
Urcuioli, P.J.; Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Transfer across delayed discriminations: evidence regarding the nature of prospective working memory |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1992 |
Publication |
Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
| Volume |
18 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
154-173 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Appetitive Behavior; Attention; *Color Perception; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning; *Mental Recall; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; Problem Solving; Retention (Psychology); *Transfer (Psychology) |
| Abstract |
Pigeons were trained successively either on 2 delayed simple discriminations or on a delayed simple discrimination followed by delayed matching-to-sample. During subsequent transfer tests, the initial stimuli from the 1st task were substituted for those in the 2nd. Performances transferred immediately if both sets of initial stimuli had been associated with the presence versus absence of food on their respective retention tests, and the direction of transfer (positive or negative) depended on whether the substitution involved stimuli with identical or different outcome associates. No transfer was found, however, when the initial stimuli were associated with different patterns of responding but food occurred at the end of every trial. These results are consistent with outcome expectancy mediation but are incompatible with response intention and retrospective coding accounts. |
| Address |
Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1364 |
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English |
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Edition |
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0097-7403 |
ISBN |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:1583445 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
260 |
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| Author |
Urcuioli, P.J.; Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Retrospective coding in pigeons' delayed matching-to-sample |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1986 |
Publication |
Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
| Volume |
12 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
69-77 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Color Perception; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning; *Form Perception; *Memory; *Mental Recall; Orientation; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; Retention (Psychology) |
| Abstract |
In this study we examined how coding processes in pigeons' delayed matching-to-sample were affected by the stimuli to be remembered. In Experiment 1, two groups of pigeons initially learned 0-delay matching-to-sample with identical comparison stimuli (vertical and horizontal lines) but with different sample stimuli (red and green hues or vertical and horizontal lines). Longer delays were then introduced between sample offset and comparison onset to assess whether pigeons were prospectively coding the same events (viz., the correct line comparisons) or retrospectively coding different events (viz., their respective sample stimuli). The hue-sample group matched more accurately and showed a slower rate of forgetting than the line-sample group. In Experiment 2, pigeons were trained with either hues or lines as both sample and comparison stimuli, or with hue samples and line comparisons or vice versa. Subsequent delay tests revealed that the hue-sample groups remembered more accurately and generally showed slower rates of forgetting than the line-sample groups. Comparison dimension had little or no effect on performance. Together, these data suggest that pigeons retrospectively code the samples in delayed matching-to-sample. |
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English |
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0097-7403 |
ISBN |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:3701260 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
263 |
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| Author |
Urcuioli, P.J.; DeMarse, T.B.; Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Transfer across delayed discriminations: II. Differences in the substitutability of initial versus test stimuli |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1998 |
Publication |
Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
| Volume |
24 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
47-59 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal; Columbidae/physiology; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology; Reinforcement (Psychology); Retention (Psychology)/physiology |
| Abstract |
In 2 experiments, pigeons were trained on, and then transferred to, delayed simple discriminations in which the initial stimuli signalled reinforcement versus extinction following a retention interval. Experiment 1 showed that discriminative responding on the retention test transferred to novel test stimuli that had appeared in another delayed simple discrimination but not to stimuli having the same reinforcement history off-baseline. By contrast, Experiment 2 showed that performances transferred to novel initial stimuli whether they had been trained on-baseline or off-baseline. These results suggest that the test stimuli in delayed simple discriminations acquire control over responding only in the memory task itself. On the other hand, control by the initial stimuli, if coded as outcome expectancies, does not require such task-specific training. |
| Address |
Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1364, USA. uche@psych.purdue.edu |
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English |
Summary Language |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Edition |
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0097-7403 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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Expedition |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:9438965 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
253 |
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| Author |
Uller, C.; Jaeger, R.; Guidry, G.; Martin, C. |
| Title |
Salamanders ( Plethodon cinereus) go for more: rudiments of number in an amphibian |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
6 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
105-112 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Cognition; Discrimination Learning; Female; Male; Mathematics; *Urodela |
| Abstract |
Techniques traditionally used in developmental research with infants have been widely used with nonhuman primates in the investigation of comparative cognitive abilities. Recently, researchers have shown that human infants and monkeys select the larger of two numerosities in a spontaneous forced-choice discrimination task. Here we adopt the same method to assess in a series of experiments spontaneous choice of the larger of two numerosities in a species of amphibian, red-backed salamanders ( Plethodon cinereus). The findings indicate that salamanders “go for more,” just like human babies and monkeys. This rudimentary capacity is a type of numerical discrimination that is spontaneously present in this amphibian. |
| Address |
Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70504-3772, USA. uller@louisiana.edu |
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Place of Publication |
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English |
Summary Language |
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Original Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Edition |
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1435-9448 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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Conference |
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| Notes |
PMID:12709845 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2575 |
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| Author |
Treichler, F.R.; Van Tilburg, D. |
| Title |
Premise-pair training for valid tests of serial list organization in macaques |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
5 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
97-105 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Macaca/*psychology; *Memory |
| Abstract |
This study evaluated the role of several different training procedures on (1) efficiency of acquisition and (2) organizational characteristics of memory for lists that could be serially ordered. Five macaque monkeys were trained via two-choice object discriminations in a formboard apparatus on several five-item-series tasks that provided different levels of intrasession conditionality. Although ease of acquisition differed for subsets of the constituent pairs, concurrent inclusion of the four premise pairs that defined a list required equivalent amounts of training on every task. All training procedures yielded similar retention-test performances and showed common organizational properties (on both error and latency measures) consistent with the view that lists were retained as internally represented ordered series. Test outcomes emphasized the need for integrated exposition of all concurrent conditional relationships to allow appropriate tests of serial organization. However, if given such training, the monkeys revealed integrated serial memory even though they had never seen many of the possible novel combinations of list items. In overview, their performances offered further definition of the procedures required for valid assessment of inferential properties in comparative cognition. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242-0001, USA. rtreichl@kent.edu |
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English |
Summary Language |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12150042 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2602 |
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| Author |
Treichler, F.R. |
| Title |
Successive reversal of concurrent discriminations by macaques (Macaca mulatta): proactive interference effects |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
8 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
75-83 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Choice Behavior; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Macaca mulatta/*psychology; *Memory; *Proactive Inhibition; Random Allocation; *Reversal Learning |
| Abstract |
Rhesus monkeys received concurrent within-session training on eight, two-choice object pairs and then underwent successive reversals of these problems. Initially, reversals required about six times more training than acquisition with no improvement over seven successive reversals. Surprisingly, performance on these eight problems was unimpaired if they were embedded in different eight-problem tasks, thereby indicating a release from proactive interference. When the original eight problems again underwent successive reversal, no improvement was seen over seven reversals, although there was significantly less error-per-reversal than in the initial test. Subsequently, monkeys appeared to be developing a learning set for successive reversal because performance on successive reversal of eight novel problems was not different from that seen with the old familiar task. Set acquisition was confirmed when proficient reversal was eventually achieved on both old and new concurrent tasks. Thus, “concurrent reversal set” did develop, but it required arduous training to overcome proactive interference effects on memory. The ubiquitous influence of measurement context on organization of monkey memory was noted. |
| Address |
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA. rtreichl@kent.edu |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15365875 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2512 |
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