Abstract
Newly hatched chicks were force-fed food and water throughout rearing, and food, water, or sand reinforcers during exposure to an omission-training procedure. The chicks were thus prevented from performing approach and contact responses to the reinforcer at any time in their lives. Nevertheless, the subjects displayed approach and species-specific feeding or drinking reactions directed toward an illuminated key paired with food or water, but not with sand. Illumination of a key either uncorrelated or negatively correlated with food or water did not engender appreciable responding. Feeding and drinking reactions were topographically distinct, determined by the type of reinforcer, but were not elicited by the reinforcer. These findings support a “learned release” view of autoshaping, according to which phylogenetically preorganized behavior patterns are triggered by distal stimuli paired with biologically significant proximal stimulation, and suggest a close relationship between autoshaping and primitive instances of visual object recognition.
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Reference Notes
Woodruff. G., Morrison, R. R., & Williams, D. R.Consummatory fixed-action patterns underlying conditioned key-pecking in the pigeon. Paper and videotape presented at the Fifteenth Annual Meetings of the Psychonomic Society, Boston, November 1974.
Woodruff, G.Autoshaping. A “learned release” hypothesis. Paper presented at the meetings of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, April 1974.
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This research was supported by NSF Grant GB 35319X to D. R. Williams and USPHS Grant MH-04202 to R. L. Solomon.
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Woodruff, G., Starr, M.D. Autoshaping of initial feeding and drinking reactions in newly hatched chicks. Animal Learning & Behavior 6, 265–272 (1978). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209612
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209612