Perceptual distinctiveness and oddity-problem solving in children

Gollin, Eugene S.; Saravo, Anne; Salten, Cynthia

doi:10.1016/0022-0965(67)90052-5

Cited by 31 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The relation between number of incorrect alternatives and rate of oddity acquisition, found in the present experiments, is consistent with earlier research with children (Gollin et al, 1967), chimpanzees (Nissen & McCulloch, 1937), and canaries (Pastore, 1954), which suggests that the phenomenon and perhaps the underlying mechanisms have considerable generality.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…It remains to be determined by what mechanism the increase in incorrect alternatives facilitates acquisition. According to Gollin et al (1967), increasing the number of incorrect alternatives increases the "perceptual salience" of the odd stimulus. Perceptual salience is related to the gestalt notion of the figureground (i.e., the odd stimulus stands out better perceptually against a more complete background, Koffka, 1935, ch.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Oddity learning in the pigeon as a function of the number of incorrect alternatives.

Zentall¹,

Hogan²,

Edwards³

et al. 1980

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes

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Pigeons' rate of learning a two-color oddity task increased as a function of the number of incorrect alternatives from 2 to 24 in Experiments 1, 2, and 3. In general, pigeons that were transferred from many-incorrect-alternative to two-incorrect-alternative oddity performed better than controls, but considerably below baseline (Experiments 2 and 3). In Experiment 4, pigeons showed no unconditioned tendency to peck the odd stimulus among 24 incorect alternatives, when pecks were nondifferentially reinforced, and in Experiment 5, when this procedure was preceded by oddity training, a progressive drop in odd-stimulus pecking was found. In Experiment 6, pigeons exposed to a nine-stimulus array in which the odd stimulus appeared (a) in the center or (b) separate from the array learned faster than when the odd stimulus was at the edge. This outcome suggests ththe figure-ground relation between the odd stimulus and the incorrect alternatives plays a role in the facilitation produced by increasing the number of incorrect alternatives but that poor performance on the standard, three-alternative oddity task appears to be due to center-odd trials which provide a difficult size or number discrimination.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oddity learning in the pigeon as a function of the number of incorrect alternatives.

Zentall¹,

Hogan²,

Edwards³

et al. 1980

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes

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show abstract

“…We expected to find that matching and oddity are learned by similar processes, and that any difference appears only on more complex tasks. The placement of the sample window above the choice windows was expected to favor matching slightly, just as the three-in-a-row display produced an oddity bias in the children studied by Gollin, Saravo, and Salten (1967), the retardates studied by Scott 1964), and the chimpanzees studied by Davenport and Menzel (1960).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The solution process in children's matching-to-sample.

Levin¹,

Maurer²

1969

Developmental Psychology

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“…It is generally agreed that children less than 4.5 years cannot solve "oddity" discrimination problems when the same stimuli are used on each trial (House, Brown, & Scott, 1974;Gollin, Saravo, & Salten, 1967;Gollin & Schadler, 1972;Rose, 1976). This problem typically confronts the subject with three stimulus elements, two of which are identical, and the odd member of the set is correct (e.g., A A B+ or B A + B).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of age on children's learning of problems that require a configural association solution

Rudy

Keith

Georgen

1993

Developmental Psychobiology

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Elemental associations permit subjects to solve problems when the significance of the relevant stimulus elements are consistent from trial to trial but do not allow subjects to solve problems that require them to construct and use representations of stimulus conjunctions or configurations to guide their behavior. Recent research with brain-damaged and developing animals has led several theorists to propose that elemental and configural associations depend on different neural systems. Some evidence suggests that changes in children's learning that occur when they are about 4.5 years old may be partially due to developmental differences in access to the elemental and configural association systems. Two experiments are reported that support this hypothesis. Children at least 4.5 years old were able to solve the transverse patterning problem and a conditional discrimination, two problems that require configural association solutions. Younger children did not solve these problems but were able to solve problems constructed from the same stimulus materials that permitted an elemental association solution. These results suggest that children may not gain access to the configural association system until they are about 4.5 years old and support the hypothesis that the configural association system depends on different, later developing neural structures than does the elemental association system.

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Perceptual distinctiveness and oddity-problem solving in children

Cited by 31 publications

References 13 publications

Oddity learning in the pigeon as a function of the number of incorrect alternatives.

Oddity learning in the pigeon as a function of the number of incorrect alternatives.

The solution process in children's matching-to-sample.

The effect of age on children's learning of problems that require a configural association solution

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