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Human Choice Predicted by Obtained Reinforcers, Not by Reinforcement Predictors.

Jessica P Stagner1, Vincent M Edwards1, Sara R Bond1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, United States.

Frontiers in Psychology
|August 28, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Adult humans did not prefer reinforcement predictors in a choice task, unlike pigeons. This suggests species differences in decision-making, warranting further study of intelligence across vertebrates.

Keywords:
choicecomparative psychologymatching lawpreferencesuboptimal choice

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Area of Science:

  • Comparative psychology
  • Animal behavior
  • Cognitive science

Background:

  • Macphail's hypothesis suggests intelligence is consistent across vertebrate species when context is controlled.
  • Choice behavior research examines preferences for stimuli predicting reinforcement, even with delayed rewards.
  • Pigeons exhibit a preference for reinforcement predictors, similar to human gambling behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate adult human preferences for reinforcement predictors in a choice task.
  • To compare human choice behavior to that of children, monkeys, dogs, rats, and pigeons.
  • To assess Macphail's hypothesis regarding interspecies intelligence consistency.

Main Methods:

  • Adult human participants completed a choice task involving reinforcement predictors.
  • Findings were compared to existing data from various vertebrate species.
  • A generalized matching equation was used to analyze choice behavior.

Main Results:

  • Adult humans showed no preference for reinforcement predictors in Experiment 1.
  • Reinforcement predictors did not significantly influence choice behavior in Experiment 2.
  • Choice behavior in adult humans was primarily driven by reinforcement history.

Conclusions:

  • Adult human choice behavior differs from that observed in pigeons regarding reinforcement predictors.
  • Species-specific differences in decision-making may exist, challenging Macphail's hypothesis.
  • Further research is needed to explore intelligence variations across vertebrate species.