Unabhängigkeit der bewertung zweier musterparameter von deren unterschiedlichkeitsgrad bei der Dressur

Abstract

Bees were trained on a black disc (rewarded) against a smaller grey disc (unrewarded). Thus the bees had the choice of distinguishing between the two training figures by relying on the difference in size or on the difference in greyness or on both parameters. The aim of the present investigation was whether the relative weight of these parameters depended upon the differences in size and greyness presented during the training phase. 1. During the first two days of training the relative rating of these parameters changed in some, though not all individuals. In these cases the size of the discs rose in importance while the greyness was rated uniformly high (Fig. 3). Later, from the third day of training onwards the parameters were rated constantly. 2. Whenever size and greyness of the two training figures differed noticeably the bee relied on both parameters. The bee rated both parameters independently of the quantity of the differences in size and greyness presented during the training (Fig. 5). Thus the bee's analysis of the tested patterns cannot be attributed solely to the training paradigm, but seems to rely also on given (innate) “analyzers” (cf. Sutherland and Mackintosh, 1971). The type of training patterns only determines which “analyzers” influence the choice reaction. 3. The bee's “analyzer for size” had an influence on the choice reaction only if there was a noticeable size-difference between the training figures. The “analyzer for shades of grey”, however, strongly influenced the choice reactions also in those cases where the training figures showed no difference in greyness but only differences in size (Fig. 2).