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Updated: Jul 16, 2026
06:14
A Method for Investigating Change Blindness in Pigeons (Columba Livia)
Published on: September 7, 2018
Information processing by pigeons (Columba livia): incentive as information
Charles P Shimp1, Alyson L Froehlich, Walter T Herbranson
1Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0251, USA. charlie.shimp@psych.utah.edu
Journal of Comparative Psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983)
|February 28, 2007
Summary
Pigeons
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Animal behavior
- Neuroscience
Background:
- The Hick-Hyman law traditionally models reaction time based on information processing.
- Incentive, such as reinforcement, is known to influence behavior, but its precise role in reaction time models is less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the applicability of the Hick-Hyman law to reaction time in pigeons under varying incentive conditions.
- To determine how incentive processing relates to spatial information processing in a reaction time task.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Pigeons performed a reaction time task where reinforcement probability (incentive) was varied.
- Experiment 2: A serial reaction time task was used with moment-to-moment incentive variations.
- Reaction time and information processing were measured in both experiments.
Main Results:
- The Hick-Hyman law accurately described the relationship between incentive (reinforcement probability) and reaction time in pigeons.
- Pigeons processed incentive at a constant rate, as indicated by the linear function.
- Spatial information processing affected overall reaction time but not the rate of incentive processing.
Conclusions:
- The findings support the universality of the Hick-Hyman law across different species and task complexities.
- Results suggest that incentive value is processed consistently, aligning with economic theories of information.
- The study provides comparative evidence for the economics of information and mental continuity.
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