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Successive two-item same-different discrimination and concept learning by pigeons.

Robert G. Cook1, Debbie M. Kelly, Jeffrey S. Katz

  • 1Department of Psychology, 530 Bacon Hall, Tufts University, 02155, Medford, MA, USA

Behavioural Processes
|May 6, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Pigeons can learn to identify "same" and "different" visual stimuli presented sequentially. This demonstrates pigeons

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive ethology
  • Animal cognition
  • Comparative psychology

Background:

  • Pigeons (Columba livia) have demonstrated complex cognitive abilities, including same/different discrimination with simultaneous stimuli.
  • Investigating successive stimulus presentations is crucial for understanding the temporal aspects of animal cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if pigeons can learn same/different discrimination with successively presented stimuli.
  • To analyze the emergence of discrimination within a trial sequence.
  • To assess transfer of learning to novel visual stimuli.

Main Methods:

  • Four pigeons were trained using a go/no-go procedure with alternating identical or different color photographs.
  • Stimuli were presented on a computer screen for 20 seconds with a brief inter-stimulus interval.

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  • Behavioral analyses focused on pecking responses at the earliest possible point in the sequence.

    • Main Results:

    • Pigeons successfully discriminated between same and different successive picture sequences.
    • Discrimination emerged rapidly, by the presentation of the second stimulus.
    • Pigeons demonstrated transfer of learning to novel color, grayscale, and video stimuli, showing savings.

    Conclusions:

    • Pigeons can acquire same/different discrimination and concept formation with successive stimulus pairs.
    • These findings suggest pigeons possess abilities for judging stimulus relations comparable to primates.
    • Successive discrimination provides further evidence for qualitative similarities in avian and primate cognition.