Abstract
Lever responding in four of five naive squirrel monkeys was autoshaped when a visual stimulus was paired with food presentations. Despite topographical similarity between the autoshaped response and the grasping of food, neither lever responding nor measurable approach behavior was maintained when the occurrence of lever responding precluded the delivery of food. In the second experiment, in which an auditory stimulus signaled food presentations, autoshaping occurred when the manipulandum was constantly illuminated. The rate of acquisition was slower than when a visual stimulus signaled food, although responding was comparably eliminated in the negative response-dependency procedure. Variability in the patterns of behavior leading to consumption in the squirrel monkey may account for the differences between the behavior of this species and pigeons when exposed to these procedures.
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Reference Note
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Experiment I was presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Associaton, Washington, D. C, May 4, 1973. The authors are particularly indebted to Barbara Salsitz, Jerry Sepinwall, and Larry Byrd for their comments and suggestions and Joseph Sia for his technical assistance. We also thank Diana Cantrella and Linda Volpe for their help in preparation of this manuscript.
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Schwam, E., Gamzu, E. Constraints on autoshaping in the squirrel monkey: Stimulus and response factors. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 5, 369–372 (1975). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03333274
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03333274