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Three-configuration matching-to-sample in the pigeon
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|May 1, 1972
Summary
Pigeons trained on incomplete stimulus sets showed negative transfer when all stimuli were presented. This suggests training with fewer options biases pigeons' responses, impacting later learning.
Area of Science:
- * Cognitive psychology
- * Animal behavior
- * Learning and memory
Background:
- * Matching-to-sample tasks are used to study associative learning.
- * Stimulus generalization and transfer of learning are key concepts in understanding how prior experience affects new learning.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate the effects of training with a limited set of stimuli on subsequent learning.
- * To examine how incomplete training configurations influence transfer of learning in pigeons.
- * To determine if training set size affects stimulus control and response biases.
Main Methods:
- * Pigeons were trained using a zero-delay matching-to-sample procedure.
- * Training involved only three out of four possible stimulus configurations.
- * A transfer test exposed pigeons to all four configurations.
Main Results:
- * Experiment 1 showed significant negative transfer from the three training configurations.
- * Experiment 2 revealed differential position-preference effects due to three-configuration training.
- * Pigeons' responses in the transfer test were influenced by stimulus position or color, depending on the sample stimulus.
Conclusions:
- * Incomplete stimulus set training can lead to negative transfer in pigeons.
- * Training with a limited set of stimuli can create response biases, such as position preference.
- * Stimulus control can be divided between different features (e.g., position and color) based on prior training history.