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Learning generalization in problem solving by a blue-fronted parrot (Amazona aestiva)

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Abstract

Pepperberg (The Alex studies: cognitive and communicative abilities of gray parrots. Harvard University Press, Cambridge;1999) showed that some of the complex cognitive capabilities found in primates are also present in psittacine birds. Through the replication of an experiment performed with cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus oedipus) by Hauser et al. (Anim Behav 57:565–582; 1999), we examined a blue-fronted parrot’s (Amazona aestiva) ability to generalize the solution of a particular problem in new but similar cases. Our results show that, at least when it comes to solving this particular problem, our parrot subject exhibited learning generalization capabilities resembling the tamarins’.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Notes

  1. Hauser et al . defined condition E as a relevant change in the problem. However, we considered it here “irrelevant”, since the problem rule does not change: the correct choice is still the side where the reward is ON the cloth.

  2. Please note that on the line concerning condition D in Table 1 is the data from the four sessions with the yellow cloth (in parentheses) and from the two final sessions with the green cloth.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) grants. We would like to thank IBAMA for the subject’s research license, Renata G. Santalla for many forms of support, Cynthia S. Paim for statistical aid and Diego Ferraz and three anonymous referees for their relevant suggestions. The experiment reported complied to the current Brazilian law.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Cognitive Ethology, Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Olívia de Mendonça-Furtado & Eduardo B. Ottoni

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  1. Olívia de Mendonça-Furtado
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  2. Eduardo B. Ottoni
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Correspondence to Olívia de Mendonça-Furtado.

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de Mendonça-Furtado, O., Ottoni, E.B. Learning generalization in problem solving by a blue-fronted parrot (Amazona aestiva). Anim Cogn 11, 719–725 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-008-0168-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-008-0168-x

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