"Absolute" versus "relational" discrimination of intermediate size in the rhesus monkey.

Brown, W. Lynn; Overall, John E.; Gentry, George

doi:10.1037/e419682004-001

Cited by 5 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Furthermore, this was achieved without the need for any special training. Generalization of learned rules is evidence of flexibility that characterizes the cognitive abilities of Old and New World monkeys (Brown, Overall, & Gentry, 1959;Harmon, Strong, & Pasnak, 1982;Scanlon & King, 1976). The results of the present study extend this ability to lemurs, but further investigation is needed to assess the extent of this cognitive adaptability to other species in the prosimian suborder.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 48%

Transfer of self-control in black (Eulemur macaco) and brown (Eulemur fulvus) lemurs: Choice of a less preferred food item under a reverse-reward contingency.

Genty¹,

Roeder²

2007

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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When presented a choice between two food-type arrays of equivalent size under a reverse-reward contingency, black (Eulemur macaco) and brown (Eulemur fulvus) lemurs transposed their self-control abilities, acquired in a previous experiment, to significantly select the less-desired food item in order to gain access to the more desired one. However, when presented with the choice between two different food-type arrays in which the amount of the less desired food array was larger than the more desired one, large individual differences were revealed: Some subjects established a consistent rule favoring quality or quantity, whereas others exhibited various point of trade-off. These results show that lemurs seem to manage the task considering not only food quantity but also food quality.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 48%

Transfer of self-control in black (Eulemur macaco) and brown (Eulemur fulvus) lemurs: Choice of a less preferred food item under a reverse-reward contingency.

Genty¹,

Roeder²

2007

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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“…These authors clearly revealed that the occurrence of transposition of intermediate size obtained in their study with chimpanzees was evidence against Spence's theory just as the mere failure of transposition was obviously evidence against a relational approach. The results of both Spence and Gonzalez et al were replicated in a series of experiments with monkeys by Gentry, Overall, and Brown (1959) and Brown, Overall, and Gentry (1959).…”

mentioning

confidence: 79%

“…For analysis of any experiment to be possible, data should be presented in terms of first test trial response: however, only one study, Stevenson and Bitterman (1955), meets this criterion. Fortunately, the results of experiments by Spence (1942), Gonzalez et al (1954), Gentry et al (1959), andBrown et al (1959) The value of y (since x + y = 1.00, the constant values are given in terms of y alone) may range from .01-.50 to fit the results of Spence's (1942) experiment with chimpanzees and from .10-.99 for the Gonzalez et al (1954) study with the same species.…”

Section: Experimental Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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The ratio theory of intermediate size discrimination.

Zeiler¹

1963

Psychological Review

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A theory based on Kelson's adaptation level formulation was presented that was capable of integrating the data on the problem of transposition of intermediate size. These data were analyzed and new research reported that revealed several phenomena of importance for any theory of intermediate size discrimination. The modes of response either replicated or reported were transposition, systematic preference for the absolute stimulus, neither absolute nor relational choice, equal preference for 1 test stimuli, and random response. The ratio theory was able to deal with the experimental results and to predict the points of transition from one mode of response to another. The limitations and the implications of the theory were discussed. THE INTERMEDIATE SIZE PROBLEMTransposition has been a central concern for theories designed to explain the essential nature of the stimulus in discrimination learning. However, evidence opposed to all theories that have attempted to account for transposition has been revealed by research on the intermediate size problem. The first study that employed three stimuli differing in size and simultaneously presented was that of Spence (1942) which showed that response in test was predominantly to the specific stimulus on which the subjects (chimpanzees) had originally been trained. Spence considered these data to be strong evidence against both a relational (Kohler, 1955) and a configurational (Gulliksen & Wolfle, 1938) theory and extended his earlier formulation (Spence, 1937) to account for the intermediate size 1 This paper is based on a dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in partial fulfill ment of the requirements for the PhD degree. The writer wishes to express his gratitude to the chairman of his dissertation committee, Jerome Wodinsky, for his interest and invaluable advice during all stages of the development of this study.1 Now at Wellesley College.

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“…A preference for the middle-sized stimuli suggesting preference for the relative properties was detected, but repeated test trials with the same two stimulus sets can not exclude that specific length configurations might have been learned by the chimpanzee. This protocol was later repeated with rhesus monkeys to find a similar above chance preference for the middle-sized stimuli Brown et al, 1959). Squirrel monkeys also seem to have problems to grasp the middle size relation.…”

Section: Scope and Limit Of Relational Length Discriminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The long and the short of it: Rule-based relative length discrimination in carrion crows, Corvus corone

Moll

Nieder

2014

Behavioural Processes

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"Absolute" versus "relational" discrimination of intermediate size in the rhesus monkey.

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Transfer of self-control in black (Eulemur macaco) and brown (Eulemur fulvus) lemurs: Choice of a less preferred food item under a reverse-reward contingency.

Transfer of self-control in black (Eulemur macaco) and brown (Eulemur fulvus) lemurs: Choice of a less preferred food item under a reverse-reward contingency.

The ratio theory of intermediate size discrimination.

The long and the short of it: Rule-based relative length discrimination in carrion crows, Corvus corone

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