Publicação
Learning and coding strategies in pigeons (Columba livia)
| Resumo: | In a series of five studies, we analyzed discrimination learning in pigeons by focusing on which stimuli the animals would attend to, and, based on those stimuli what response rules (or codes) would be created. We used a matching-to-sample task that featured three samples and two comparisons. One comparison was correct following one of the samples and the other comparison was correct following the remaining samples. This arrangement allowed the task to be solved in more than one way. One solution would consist in establishing one code per sample duration, totaling three codes. We were interested in assessing whether the pigeons would resort to a single-code / default strategy that would require only two codes: one code for the sample that was matched to an exclusive comparison, and another code to be applied to all other samples. When the task involved a temporal discrimination, the results suggested that both the sample and houselight (that signaled the intertrial interval) controlled responding, and that the pigeons did not create three sample-specific codes. However, the evidence was not conclusive in clarifying if the coding strategy employed was the single-code / default. On the other hand, when the task involved a non-temporal discrimination, the majority of birds did not show evidence of single-code / default. Taken together, our results suggest that the pigeons were flexible enough to adapt to the specificities of the task. Additionally, the conditions that trigger the adoption of a given coding strategy may not only depend on the characteristics of the task and the modality of the stimuli used, but can also vary substantially among individuals. |
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| Autores principais: | Pinto, Carlos André Ribeiro Oliveira |
| Ano: | 2016 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | tese de doutoramento |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade do Minho |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho |
| Resumo: | In a series of five studies, we analyzed discrimination learning in pigeons by focusing on which stimuli the animals would attend to, and, based on those stimuli what response rules (or codes) would be created. We used a matching-to-sample task that featured three samples and two comparisons. One comparison was correct following one of the samples and the other comparison was correct following the remaining samples. This arrangement allowed the task to be solved in more than one way. One solution would consist in establishing one code per sample duration, totaling three codes. We were interested in assessing whether the pigeons would resort to a single-code / default strategy that would require only two codes: one code for the sample that was matched to an exclusive comparison, and another code to be applied to all other samples. When the task involved a temporal discrimination, the results suggested that both the sample and houselight (that signaled the intertrial interval) controlled responding, and that the pigeons did not create three sample-specific codes. However, the evidence was not conclusive in clarifying if the coding strategy employed was the single-code / default. On the other hand, when the task involved a non-temporal discrimination, the majority of birds did not show evidence of single-code / default. Taken together, our results suggest that the pigeons were flexible enough to adapt to the specificities of the task. Additionally, the conditions that trigger the adoption of a given coding strategy may not only depend on the characteristics of the task and the modality of the stimuli used, but can also vary substantially among individuals. |
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