TRANSFER OF MATCHING‐TO‐SAMPLE IN PIGEONS<sup>1</sup>

Farthing, G. William; Opuda, Michael J.

doi:10.1901/jeab.1974.21-199

Cited by 88 publications

(98 citation statements)

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“…For example, early tests with pigeons uniformly failed to find MTS abstract-concept learning Cumming & Berryman, 1961;Cumming et al, 1965;D'Amato et al, 1985;Farthing & Opuda, 1974;Holmes, 1979). Indeed, these failures of MTS abstract-concept learning by pigeons provided a major stimulus for Premack's (1978) article.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of same-different abstract-concept learning by rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Katz¹,

Wright²,

Bachevalier³

2002

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes

106

140

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Experiments with 9 rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) showed, for the first time, that abstract-concept learning varied with the training stimulus set size. In a same/different task, monkeys required to touch a top picture before choosing a bottom picture (same) or white rectangle (different) learned rapidly. Monkeys not required to touch the top picture or presented with the top picture for a fixed time learned slowly or not at all. No abstract-concept learning occurred after 8-item training but progressively improved with larger set sizes and was complete following 128-item training. A control monkey with a constant 8-item set ruled out repeated training and testing. Contrary to the unique-species account, it is argued that different species have quantitative, not qualitative, differences in abstract-concept learning.Abstract concepts are the basis of much of our so-called higher order cognitive processing (e.g., language and mathematics). Abstract concepts are rules about relationships such as identity or sameness. Children apparently develop cognition in stages and expand their abstract concept of sameness to include number length, area, and volume (Piaget & Inhelder, 1966/1969. Indeed, William James (1890/1950) declared that our "sense of sameness is the very keel and backbone of our thinking" (p. 459). In the laboratory, the abstract concept of sameness is usually studied in matching-to-sample (MTS) or same/different (S/D) tasks. In MTS, subjects typically view a sample stimulus and then choose one of two comparison stimuli, with the correct choice being the comparison that matches the sample. In S/D, subjects view a pair of stimuli and then make one of two responses to indicate whether the stimuli are the same or different. The determination of abstractconcept learning in both cases is accurate performance with novel test stimuli. Accurate performance with novel stimuli means that the subject has learned an abstract rule that transcends the particular training stimuli. Such transfer performance is what makes abstract-concept learning unique and different from other forms of concept learning.Abstract concepts are different from what are called "natural" concepts. Natural concepts are categories of items bound by absolute features of objects such as cars, chairs, flowers, person, water, or trees (e.g., Bhatt, Wasserman, Reynolds, & Knauss, 1988;Herrnstein, Loveland, & Cable, 1976;Roberts & Mazmanian, 1988). Natural concepts involve learning specific features shared by a class or category of items (e.g., prototype). By contrast, abstract concepts do not involve learning specific stimulus features. Instead, they involve learning the relationships between items. Thus, abstract concepts involve relational learning as opposed to the item-specific learning of natural-concept learning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of same-different abstract-concept learning by rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Katz¹,

Wright²,

Bachevalier³

2002

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes

106

140

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The purpose of the present experiment was to evaluate this hypothesis. Here, we tried to neutralize this potential bias by reinforcing pecks at novel stimuli before those stimuli were used in the transfer test.Previous experiments have investigated this hypothesis and have obtained contradictory results (Farthing & Opuda, 1974). Subjects in only one out of four of Farthing and Opuda's experiments (Experiment 2) showed an effect of prior reinforced keypecks at the novel stimuli.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Previous experiments have investigated this hypothesis and have obtained contradictory results (Farthing & Opuda, 1974). Subjects in only one out of four of Farthing and Opuda's experiments (Experiment 2) showed an effect of prior reinforced keypecks at the novel stimuli.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…However, when the sample and correct comparison are novel, performance is no better than chance, and it is often significantly below chance. Both Cumming and Berryman (1965) and Farthing and Opuda (1974) have used results such as these to argue that pigeons do not attend to the incorrect comparison in matching-to-sample training. Rather, pigeons learn a conditional stimulus response chain in which a specific sample stimulus directs responses to a specific comparison stimulus.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A response to the comparison stimulus that is similar to the sample is reinforced, and a response to the comparison that is different from the sample is not reinforced. Several experiments designed to identify what pigeons learn in the matching problem have been based on a transfer-of-training paradigm (Cumming & Berryman, 1965;Farthing & Opuda, 1974). In this paradigm, subjects are trained to match with one set of stimuli.…”

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Transfer of color matching in pigeons

Menlove

Shimp

1980

Bull. Psychon. Soc.

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Two pigeons were tested for transfer of matching to novel colors after a three-phase training procedure: First, the birds were trained to match colors; second, they were trained to choose odd colors; and third, they were retrained to match colors. The third phase included additional trials in which pecking at novel colors was reinforced. A subsequent transfer test showed that performance on trials with novel colors was slightly above chance but below levels observed on trials with only familiar colors. In addition, there was no difference between performance on trials in which both the sample and correct comparisons were novel and trials in which only the incorrect comparison was novel. These results provide some evidence for the acquisition of a general matching strategy, but they suggest that when pigeons are presented novel stimuli in a test for transfer of matching, their behavior displays biases that can lead to misinterpretations of what is learned in matching tasks.In a matching-to-sample task, a subject is exposed to a sample stimulus and then to two comparison stimuli. A response to the comparison stimulus that is similar to the sample is reinforced, and a response to the comparison that is different from the sample is not reinforced. Several experiments designed to identify what pigeons learn in the matching problem have been based on a transfer-of-training paradigm (Cumming & Berryman, 1965;Farthing & Opuda, 1974). In this paradigm, subjects are trained to match with one set of stimuli. After a high level of matching performance is achieved, these stimuli are said to be familiar. Subsequently, a transfer test is administered with a novel set of stimuli. The results show that on transfer trials in which the sample and correct comparison are familiar and the incorrect comparison is novel, performance is as accurate as on trials in which all three stimuli are familiar. However, when the sample and correct comparison are novel, performance is no better than chance, and it is often significantly below chance. Both Cumming and Berryman (1965) and Farthing and Opuda (1974) have used results such as these to argue that pigeons do not attend to the incorrect comparison in matching-to-sample training. Rather, pigeons learn a conditional stimulus response chain in which a specific sample stimulus directs responses to a specific comparison stimulus.However, there is an alternative description of transfer performance: On all trials in which the correct comparison is familiar, performance is good; on all trials in which the correct comparison is novel, performance is poor. Thus, pigeons may simply have a bias against pecking novel stimuli. This bias might mask the performance of whatever is learned in matching-to-sample training. The purpose of the present experiment was to evaluate this hypothesis. Here, we tried to neutralize this potential bias by reinforcing pecks at novel stimuli before those stimuli were used in the transfer test.Previous experiments have investigated this hypothesis and have obtained contrad...

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