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Published on: June 2, 2014
Blocking a selective association in pigeons
1Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA. sweiss@american.edu
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|February 24, 1999
Summary
Pigeons show selective learning based on reinforcement type, associating tones with food and lights with shock. This learned association can be blocked by specific pretraining, demonstrating a biological constraint on learning across species.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Comparative psychology
- Animal learning
Background:
- Pigeons trained with free-operant multiple schedules of reinforcement exhibit stimulus-reinforcer interactions.
- Previous research showed selective associations in pigeons, but attempts to block them were unsuccessful.
- Studies in rats demonstrated successful blocking of selective associations using specific pretraining procedures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate stimulus-reinforcer interactions in pigeons using free-operant multiple schedules.
- To determine if selective associations in pigeons can be blocked using procedures effective in rats.
- To explore the cross-species generality of an associative attentional mechanism with biological constraints.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Pigeons trained with tone-light (TL) compound for food (treadle pressing) or shock (avoidance).
- Stimulus-element testing assessed auditory vs. visual stimulus control.
- Experiment 2: Pigeons pretrained with the biologically disadvantageous element of the compound (tone-food or light-shock) before TL training.
Main Results:
- Experiment 1: Pigeons treadle pressing for food showed visual stimulus control; pigeons avoiding shock showed auditory control.
- Experiment 2: Pretraining blocked selective association, resulting in auditory control for food-seeking pigeons and visual control for shock-avoiding pigeons.
- The blocking procedure, effective in rats, was replicated successfully in pigeons.
Conclusions:
- Selective stimulus-reinforcer associations in pigeons can be blocked by specific pretraining, contrary to previous findings.
- Replication of rat procedures confirms their effectiveness in blocking selective associations in pigeons.
- Results support an associative attentional mechanism influenced by biological constraints, demonstrating cross-species generality.
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