Abstract
Pigeons were trained on a task in which a red light of durationt 1 was followed by a green light of durationt 2 and then responses to different keys were reinforced according to whether the durations of the stimuli were the same or different. For Experiment 1, duration pairs consisted of all combinations of 1, 2, 4, and 8 sec. In Experiment 2,different-duration pairs included only combinations witht 1 >t 2 and, in addition, 2 subjects with extended training involving lesser-greater duration comparisons were transferred to the same-different task. Two of 3 subjects learned the task in Experiment 1 and analyses suggested that choices were based on specific instances, not on a temporal same-different rule. All 5 birds acquired the discrimination in Experiment 2, where it appeared that choices were controlled by a combination of relative and absolute rules. Accuracy decreased following transfer from a lesser-greater to a same-different discrimination, but performance was above chance on the first transfer session. In both experiments, however, accuracy was below that found in earlier work with lesser-greater comparisons of duration. These findings are discussed in relation to prior research with lesser-greater comparisons of duration and same-different tasks involving nontemporal stimuli.
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This research was conducted at Norwich University, Northfield, VT, and supported by a Dana Research Fellowship from Norwich University to J. G. Fetterman. Preparation of this report was supported by Department of Health and Human Services NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship 1 F32 MH090306 from NIMH to J. G. Fetterman.
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Fetterman, J.G. Same-different comparison of duration. Animal Learning & Behavior 15, 403–411 (1987). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205047
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03205047