Disruption of chickens’ color aversions when training and test mediums are different

Abstract

In the present experiments, the conditions under which chickens would avoid colored and flavored substances that they had associated with toxicosis were examined. It was found that changing the substance from a fluid to a solid weakened color aversions more than flavor aversions. This was true despite the fact that color and flavor aversions appeared to be of equal strength and despite the fact that the birds could recognize the colors in the changed substance. Color aversions were weakened only by changes in substances at the time of test. They were not disrupted by changes in flavor or by substitution of a different container at the time of test. These data are inconsistent with conventional theories of conditioning, which would predict equal disruption of color and flavor aversions. It is suggested that birds treat color as a signal that a particular substance is dangerous and treat flavor as an aversive stimulus independent of the medium (ct. Garcia, Rusiniak, & Brett, 1977).Birds' success in associating color cues with induced sickness is influenced by a variety of factors.