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Nonnumerical stimuli exert surprisingly strong behavioral control in an unconstrained numerical discrimination
Francisca Diaz1, Edward A Wasserman1
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, United States.
Cognition
|April 16, 2026
Summary
In numerical discrimination learning, nonnumerical stimulus properties like item size and area, not item count, surprisingly controlled behavior in both pigeons and people. This suggests shared cognitive processes across species.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Comparative cognition
- Animal behavior
Background:
- Understanding numerical cognition requires identifying factors controlling discrimination learning.
- Previous research has not definitively established whether numerical quantity or nonnumerical stimulus features dominate behavioral control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the number of items or nonnumerical properties (total area, individual size) exert greater control during numerical discrimination learning.
- To compare these effects in pigeons and humans to explore potential shared cognitive mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Developed a novel method to simultaneously assess behavioral control by item number, total item area, and individual item size.
- Conducted numerical discrimination learning tasks with both pigeons and human participants.
Main Results:
- Nonnumerical properties, specifically item size and total item area, exerted greater behavioral control than item number in both species.
- Pigeons and humans exhibited similar patterns of behavioral control by stimulus properties.
Conclusions:
- Stimulus properties like size and area can be more influential than numerical quantity in discrimination learning.
- The convergence of findings in pigeons and humans suggests underlying common cognitive processes in numerical and non-numerical discrimination.
