Cebus cf. apella exhibits rapid acquisition of complex stimulus relations and emergent performance by exclusion.

Abstract

A "second generation" matching-to-sample procedure that minimizes past sources of artifacts involves (1) successive discrimination between sample stimuli, (2) stimulus displays ranging from four to 16 comparisons, (3) variable stimulus locations to avoid unwanted stimulus-location control, and (4) high accuracy levels (e.g., 90% correct on a 16-choice task in which chance accuracy is 6%). Examples of behavioral engineering with experienced capuchin monkeys included four-choice matching problems with video images of monkeys with substantially above-chance matching in a single session and 90% matching within six sessions. Exclusion performance was demonstrated by interspersing non-identical sample-comparison pairs within a baseline of a nine-comparison identity-matching-to-sample procedure with pictures as stimuli. The test for exclusion presented the newly "mapped" stimulus in a situation in which exclusion was not possible. Degradation of matching between physically non-identical forms occurred while baseline identity accuracy was sustained at high levels, thus confirming that Cebus cf. apella is capable of exclusion. Additionally, exclusion performance when baseline matching relations involved non-identical stimuli was shown.

Estratégias De Ensino De Relações Arbitrárias Entre Estímulos Visuais Em Cães, Abelhas E Macacos-Prego

“…Na modelagem, os macacos escolhiam, em quase todos os passos do treino, sob controle de relações de identidade entre elementos dos modelos e comparações que se mantinham no processo de transformação gradual dos estímulos (Brino et al, 2011;Brino et al, 2012). No procedimento de alternância de treino por exclusão e treino por tentativa e erro, um dos macacos, Raul (Brino et al, 2010), aprendeu as tarefas arbitrárias após um treino excessivamente extenso, e Drácula, cujos resultados foram relatados neste trabalho, não adquiriu desempenho mesmo após 13 ciclos de alternância, sendo que cada ciclo somava, pelo menos, três sessões. Os dois macacos escolhiam por exclusão, mas a aprendizagem das novas relações não foi um resultado do treino.…”

Simple and complex discrimination learning.

“…Although I have used only one positive and one negative stimulus thus far, the number of stimuli to be discriminated does not define a simple discrimination procedure. Although the number of positive stimuli on each trial is typically one, the number of negative stimuli can range from two to a fairly large number (e.g., M. Stoddard, 1966, used seven, andde Faria Brino, Assumpção, Campos, de Faria Galvão, &McIlvane, 2010, recently reported a discrimination procedure that used 15 negative stimuli).…”