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Published on: June 2, 2014
Memory processing of serial lists by pigeons, monkeys, and people
A A Wright1, H C Santiago, S F Sands
1Sensory Sciences Center, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston 77030, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|July 19, 1985
Summary
Memory recall in pigeons, monkeys, and humans changes over time. The serial-position effect shifts from increasing to U-shaped, then decreasing, with retention intervals, showing species-specific learning rates.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Comparative Cognition
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Understanding memory processes is crucial for cognitive science.
- Comparative studies reveal evolutionary insights into cognition.
- The serial-position effect describes memory recall based on item position in a list.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate list memory and the serial-position effect across different species (pigeons, monkeys, humans).
- To examine how retention intervals influence memory recall patterns.
- To compare the time course of memory changes among species.
Main Methods:
- Pigeons, monkeys, and humans were tested on recalling lists of four visual items.
- Visual items included travel slides for animals and kaleidoscope patterns for humans.
- Retention intervals were systematically increased to observe changes in memory recall.
Main Results:
- The shape of the serial-position function consistently changed with increasing retention intervals.
- At short intervals, recall was monotonically increasing; at intermediate, U-shaped; at long intervals, monotonically decreasing.
- The rate of these memory changes was fastest in pigeons, intermediate in monkeys, and slowest in humans.
Conclusions:
- Memory recall dynamics, specifically the serial-position effect, are conserved across species but vary in temporal dynamics.
- Species differ in the speed at which their memory recall patterns adapt to increasing retention intervals.
- This study provides comparative evidence for the flexible nature of memory representation over time.
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