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Using the reassignment procedure to test object representation in pigeons and people
Jessie J Peissig1, Yasuo Nagasaka, Michael E Young
1Department of Psychology, California State University Fullerton, P.O. Box 6846, Fullerton, CA, 92834, USA, jpeissig@fullerton.edu.
Learning & Behavior
|March 13, 2015
Summary
Humans flexibly map object representations to new responses, unlike pigeons. This study reveals differences in cognitive flexibility and object representation between species using a reassignment procedure.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Comparative Cognition
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Understanding object representation is key to cognition.
- Lea's (1984) reassignment procedure offers a method to study representational flexibility.
- Previous research has explored object representation in various species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate Lea's (1984) reassignment procedure in pigeons and humans.
- To investigate species differences in object representation and response mapping.
- To determine if a unified object representation can be flexibly mapped to different responses.
Main Methods:
- Four experiments were conducted, involving pigeons (Experiments 1-3) and humans (Experiment 4).
- A reassignment procedure was used, training responses to specific object views and then reassigning them.
- Stimuli included multiple views of objects, with response buttons or pecks as measures.
Main Results:
- Pigeons showed generalization to non-reassigned views but less than to reassigned views.
- Human participants strongly generalized the new response to non-reassigned views.
- Pigeons demonstrated limited flexibility in mapping representations, unlike humans.
Conclusions:
- Humans possess a unified object representation that can be flexibly mapped to new responses.
- Pigeons appear to lack this flexible mapping ability under the reassignment procedure.
- Significant cognitive differences exist in object representation and response flexibility between humans and pigeons.
