Associative models fail to characterize transitive inference performance in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Animal Behavior
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Non-verbal transitive inference is crucial for complex decision-making.
• Associative models are proposed to explain transitive inference but their applicability to primates is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of associative models in explaining primate transitive inference.
• To investigate primate performance in sequential and simultaneous training paradigms.
• To assess model predictions in a list-linking transitive inference task.

Main Methods:

• Two associative models were tested against primate data from sequential and simultaneous training.
• Model fit was assessed using a list-linking design with two independent transitive lists.
• Symbolic distance effects in primate choices were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Associative models showed a poor fit for both training methods in primates, unlike in pigeons.
• Models failed to predict symbolic distance effects in primate transitive choices.
• Models accurately predicted between-list pairs but not within-list pairs in the list-linking task.

Conclusions:

• Associative strength is insufficient to account for primate behavior in transitive inference tasks.
• Primate transitive choices may involve distinct cognitive processes or a different weighting of multiple processes compared to other species.