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Contrast between what is expected and what occurs increases pigeon's suboptimal choice
Thomas R Zentall1, Danielle M Andrews2, Jacob P Case2
1Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506-0044, USA. zentall@uky.edu.
Animal Cognition
|November 16, 2018
Summary
Pigeons often prefer suboptimal 50% reinforcement over optimal 100% reinforcement. This preference decreases when the suboptimal choice is increased to 75%, suggesting contrast plays a key role in pigeon decision-making.
Area of Science:
- Comparative psychology
- Animal behavior
- Reinforcement learning
Background:
- Pigeons exhibit non-optimal choice behavior, sometimes preferring lower reinforcement rates.
- Previous research suggests signal value, not reinforcement frequency, influences choice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the contrast hypothesis explaining pigeons' preference for suboptimal reinforcement.
- To investigate the mechanisms underlying suboptimal choice in pigeons.
Main Methods:
- Pigeons were trained with varying probabilities of reinforcement for signaled alternatives.
- The probability of reinforcement for the suboptimal choice was manipulated (50% to 75%).
Main Results:
- Increasing the suboptimal choice reinforcement probability to 75% reduced preference for it.
- This indicates that a reduced contrast between expected and obtained reinforcement decreases suboptimal choice.
Conclusions:
- Suboptimal choice in pigeons results from both signal value and positive contrast.
- The findings support a dual-mechanism model for understanding choice behavior in pigeons.