Same/different abstract-concept learning by pigeons.

Abstract

Eight pigeons were trained and tested in a simultaneous same/different task. After pecking an upper picture, they pecked a lower picture to indicate same or a white rectangle to indicate different. Increases in the training set size from 8 to 1,024 items produced improved transfer from 51.3% to 84.6%. This is the first evidence that pigeons can perform a two-item same/different task as accurately with novel items as training items and both above 80% correct. Fixed-set control groups ruled out training time or transfer testing as producing the high level of abstract-concept learning. Comparisons with similar experiments with rhesus and capuchin monkeys showed that the ability to learn the same/different abstract concept was similar but that pigeons require more training exemplars.

Generalized auditory same-different discrimination by pigeons.

“…Among animals, nonhuman primates have regularly been shown to learn such relations (Thompson & Oden, 2000;Wright, Cook, & Kendrick, 1989;Wright, Santiago, & Sands, 1984). Over the past 10 years, the idea that birds, as primarily tested with pigeons, can also visually discriminate same/ different and matching relations has also received repeated support (Cook, Katz, & Cavoto, 1997;Cook, Kelly, & Katz, 2003;Cook & Wasserman, 2006;Katz & Wright, 2006;Pepperberg, 1987;Young & Wasserman, 2001).…”

Classified Judgment on Same-different Based on Bayesian Inference

“…As expected, performances of observers become better at detecting a change as the same term k increases when set size N fixes. Meanwhile, we find a significant effect of the number of bars with the same orientation k on the "Correct" rate (one-way ANOVA, F (2,8) (3,24)=1766.77; p< 0.001). This shows the hit rates decrease as the number of noise N-k (> 0) increases when k is fixed at k = 0,2, 3.…”

“…Just as William James said, "sense of sameness is the very keel and backbone of our thinking" as well as "the most important of all the features of our mental structure" [15]. By far, there are plenty of studies on classified judgment the sameness from the differentness involving with humans [9][10][11], honey bees [2], pigeons [3], parrots [4], apes [16] and so on.…”

“…On this account, researchers put forward many approaches to implement the proposition of the sameness [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Young and Wasserman found the information theoretic measure of categorical variability "entropy" systematically described the functional relationship between stimulus variability and discriminative responding [5,8].…”

“…To discriminate the variability exists in a wide range of routine tasks, such as searching for mates, sorting letters in post office, putting goods on store shelves and so on. The prevalent method is to segment a visual scene, and they aggregate localized differences among objects, and comparing these finding differences of the objects [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. As a special case, the same-different judgment attracts many researchers' interests [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”