Pigeons, portals, and Pacman: Insightful problem solving and navigation using a touchscreen video game

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Animal Behavior
• Comparative Psychology

Background:

• Video games are utilized to study problem-solving skills.
• A novel touchscreen grid-world procedure, inspired by PacMan, was developed.
• The procedure aims to investigate insight learning in animals, building on prior research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a new procedure for studying insight in pigeons.
• To assess pigeons' ability to learn and generalize navigation strategies in a virtual environment.
• To examine the role of touchscreen interaction in complex problem-solving tasks.

Main Methods:

• Pigeons were trained on a touchscreen task involving navigating a virtual PacMan to a goal.
• Training included learning to navigate barriers and utilize portals for transportation.
• The study tested for functional generalization of learned skills in novel puzzle configurations.

Main Results:

• Some pigeons achieved high levels of control in navigating the virtual PacMan.
• Evidence of functional generalization of learned navigation tools was observed.
• Subjects demonstrated insights into solving novel puzzle tasks.

Conclusions:

• The redesigned PacMan-like procedure is effective for studying insight and generalization in pigeons.
• Pigeons can learn complex touchscreen navigation and apply learned strategies to new problems.
• This study provides a valuable model for investigating cognitive processes in non-human animals.