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Updated: May 11, 2026
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Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
Published on: January 23, 2017
Interval timing under variations in the relative validity of temporal cues
Neil McMillan1, William A Roberts
1Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario.
Summary
Pigeons trained with visual cues showed less attention to time. Introducing visual cues that predict outcomes weakened pigeons' control by time during fixed-interval schedules.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral psychology
- Animal cognition
Background:
- Pigeons were trained on a fixed-interval, 60-second schedule of reinforcement.
- This schedule was signaled by a side-key cue (S+ training).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how introducing nonreinforcement cues (S- training) affects time control in pigeons.
- To determine if the order of training (S+ then S+/S- vs. S+/S- then S+) influences time perception.
Main Methods:
- Two groups of pigeons underwent different training orders: S+ followed by S+/S- training, or S+/S- followed by S+ training.
- Probe trials with no reinforcement were used to assess time control.
- A follow-up experiment controlled for reinforcement probability differences.
Main Results:
- Pigeons showed a loss of time control during S+/S- training compared to S+ training, regardless of training order.
- This effect was not due to differences in reinforcement probability.
Conclusions:
- The introduction of visual cues that predict trial outcomes weakens attention to time.
- More salient predictive cues can overshadow temporal control in fixed-interval schedules.
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