A comparative analysis of the categorization of multidimensional stimuli: II. Strategic information search in humans (Homo sapiens) but not in pigeons (Columba livia)

Journal of Comparative Psychology
Stephen E G LeaLouise Millar

Abstract

Pigeons and undergraduates learned conditional discriminations involving multiple spatially separated stimulus dimensions. Under some conditions, the dimensions were made available sequentially. In 3 experiments, the dimensions were all perfectly valid predictors of the response that would be reinforced and mutually redundant; in 2 others, they varied in validity. In tests with stimuli in which 1 of the 3 dimensions took an anomalous value, most but not all individuals of both species categorized them in terms of single dimensions. When information was delivered as a function of the passage of time, some students, but no pigeons, waited for the most useful information, especially when the cues differed in objective validity. When the subjects could control information delivery, both species obtained information selectively. When cue validities varied, almost all students tended to choose the most valid cues, and when all cues were valid, some chose the cues by which they classified test stimuli. Only a few pigeons chose the most useful information in either situation. Despite their tendency to unidimensional categorization, the pigeons showed no evidence of rule-governed behavior, but students followed a simple "take-the-best" ...Continue Reading

Citations

Jul 24, 2010·Animal Cognition·Elizabeth NichollsStephen E G Lea
Feb 26, 2016·Animal Cognition·Eric L G LeggeElliot A Ludvig
Jan 19, 2018·The Behavioral and Brain Sciences·Jayden O van Horik, Stephen E G Lea
Jul 8, 2020·Cognition·Leyre CastroEdward A Wasserman

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