Abstract
A previous study (Epstein, Kirshnit, Lanza, & Rubin, 1984) showed that pigeons that had acquired two relevant behaviors (pushing a box toward targets, and climbing onto a box and then pecking a small facsimile of a banana) could solve the classic box-and-banana problem. A human-like solution emerged as a result of the manner in which the two repertoires became interconnected moment-to-moment in time (Epstein et al., 1984; Epstein & Medalie, 1983). In the current experiment, a pigeon acquired three separate behaviors: (a) climbing, (b) pushing toward targets, and (c) pecking the banana. When the pigeon was confronted with the problem, a swift but erratic and not especially “insightful” solution emerged. Some simple principles shed light on the differences between the performances generated by the interconnection of two repertoires and the interconnection of three repertoires in this situation.
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The work was supported in part by NIH Grant MH32628 to the Foundation for Research on the Nervous System.
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Epstein, R. The Spontaneous Interconnection of Three Repertoires. Psychol Rec 35, 131–141 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394917
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394917