Visual Cues in Maze Running by the Albino Rat

Walton, Albert

doi:10.1080/08856559.1930.10532251

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…If one limits "spatial" to the sense in which it is used throughout this paper the answer is clearly in the affirmative. It may be established, as Borovski (2), Walton (17), and others have shown, whenever a distinct sign is available at the several choice points of the maze. It may occur in the fixed unit maze even when the maze is rotated and the animals blinded, by virtue of odor characteristics of the different units.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…LENGTH OF START AIM ON SUCCESSIVE DAYS* 3 18-66-18-66-24-66-30-66-3e-66-18-66-i8-i8-66-18 7 30-66-30-60-30-58-32-5e-32-5e-18-ee-18-«6'-18-66 8 18-64-18-54-18-54-54-18-54r-18-18-48-i8-^-48-24-48-28 10 18-48-18-48-18-48-18-48-24-48-8(M8-i8-48-i8 11 18-66-24-6o-24-24-30-60-24r-64-30-66-30-66-32-60-34-fi0-24-ee-ee-24-ee 12 18-66-24-66-3O-66-66-3O-66-3O-66-3()-66-32-6O-34-6O-S^-6O-24 13 18-66-18-18-60-24-54-30-52-32-66-i8-6&-*8 17 18-66-18-54-18-48-18-48-18-18-48-18-48-18-48-18-48-24-48-18-ee-18-«e 31 * When stem length is in italics response at the critical choice point was incorrect.…”

Section: Sub Experiments Amentioning

confidence: 99%

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Choice point behavior in the white rat as influenced by spatial opposition and by preceding maze sequence.

Blodgett¹,

McCutchan²

1944

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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The work reported here is an outgrowth of a study in which one of the writers (1) undertook an analysis of the extent and nature of integration of the maze response. The method employed in the earlier study involved the use of a type of maze which will be referred to as a double-pattern maze r 1 one having two start sections, distinct in place, or in pattern, a constant middle section, and two end sections. At that point in the maze where the common middle section joins the two end sections a critical choice is demanded; a left turn, let us say, if the run began at start section one, a right turn if it began at start section two. Now it may be noted (fig. 1, Maze 1) that the central part of the maze preceding the choice point, C, is the same regardless of the kind of response to be made at C. Hence, in our earlier work, it was assumed that a correct response at C could be made only if the maze response were integrated from point C backward through the common section to the different start sections. Also it was thought that the possible extent of such linkage could be studied by changing the length and complexity of the central section.Our results, in the main, were negative. Using both alley and elevated mazes of several degrees of length and complexity, we did not obtain evidence of an ability in white rats to make an appropriate response at the choice point. One exception to this statement must be made. In one instance, using a small maze having-a central section 32" in length, a 16" straight path followed by a ninety degree turn and another 16" straight path leading to C, eight out of a group of twenty-five animals learned the maze. Learners required approximately 30 practice cycles, that is 30 runs on SiKEi and 30 on S2KE2. Similar findings were obtained by Wilson (20), who used a maze like the above in general principle in a study of reaction time and its intervening behavior variables. Wilson reported that his maze, with a central alley 32" in length was extremely difficult and that this difficulty increased with lengthening of the alley.To the present writers these findings seemed to indicate (1) that there is only a slight degree of integration of the component acts in the maze response, or (2) that integration, while occurring in the spatial maze, is for some reason inhibited in the double-pattern maze. At once suggesting itself as a possible cause of inhibition is the fact that, in the double-pattern maze, spatially opposed responses are demanded at one and the same place. Another suggestion might be that the difficulty of the maze results from the absence of differential space 1 More properly it should be called the double-pattern fixed position maze. If this is understood there should be no objection to our using the shorter term.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Sub Experiments Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Choice point behavior in the white rat as influenced by spatial opposition and by preceding maze sequence.

Blodgett¹,

McCutchan²

1944

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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show abstract

“…The present problem has arisen from certain results secured in an unpublished experiment carried out three years ago, which although incidental to the problem then in question, seemed to offer some significant data toward an explanation of error elimination. In this experiment rats were trained on the sectional maze built and used by Walton (10). The maze consists of eight similar units, each of which forces the rat to choose between making a left turn or a right turn when he enters the section.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Anticipation as a factor in maze errors.

Spragg¹

1933

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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“…Perhaps the most noticeable characteristic of the behavior described in these experiments as anticipatory was the fact that it occurred prior to (either in time or space, or both) the occurrence of the event or situation to which it seemed to be an attempted adaptation. 7 The factor of temporal priority of the response is of course a commonly observed characteristic of the ordinary conditioned response, in which the response occurs "before" the original stimulus in the sense that the latter does not, or need not, occur. The factor of spatial priority however is a characteristic which is more peculiarly the possession of the anticipatory responses that were demonstrated in the rat maze experiments reported here, and appears to be an important criterion of anticipation as far as serial motor learning is concerned.…”

Section: Fia 6 Showing the Percentage Distribution Of Errors Fob The ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The rat experiments reported here were performed with the same apparatus that the writer used in his earlier investigation (6), the unit maze of eight sections built and originally used by Walton (7). In this maze, the traversing of each section necessitates a choice between a left-hand and a right-hand pathway.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%