Abstract
Three experiments were conducted with male domesticated quail to explore whether sexual responses to a three-dimensional conditioned stimulus (CS) object could be acquired through observation. Observational learning was measured by a savings test in which the observers received exposures to the CS paired with the opportunity to copulate with a female bird (the unconditioned stimulus, or US). In all of the experiments, observing a demonstrator copulate with the CS object and then receive access to the US facilitated the subsequent conditioning of the observers. This facilitation effect was not due to observation of just another male bird (Experiment 1) or observation of a male bird that copulated with the CS object (Experiment 2). Rather, the critical factor was observation of pairings of the CS object with the US. Facilitated sexual conditioning was evident in groups of birds that observed pairings of the CS and US, whether or not they witnessed a demonstrator copulating with the CS object (Experiment 3).
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The results demonstrate that sexual behavior can be acquired through observational conditioning. The research was supported by NSF Grant INT-9600455 and by NIMH Grant MH39940.
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Köksal, F., Domjan, M. Observational conditioning of sexual behavior in the domesticated quail. Animal Learning & Behavior 26, 427–432 (1998). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199235
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03199235