Abstract
Seven male albino rats and seven male Mongolian gerbils served as Ss in a cross-species test of the odor hypothesis. In both phases of a two-phase experiment, rats followed gerbils on all trials in a straight runway. During the first phase, the relationship between the goal event received by the gerbils and that received by the rats was perfect (i.e., odor-maximizing conditions). During the second phase a 50% contingency was introduced (i.e., odor-minimizing conditions). The results indicated that the rats learned to respond appropriately (fast to reward, slow to nonreward) during the first phase. Responding during the second phase was nondifferential. These results are seen as supporting and extending the odor hypothesis.
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Davis, S.F., Crutchfield, W.P., Shaver, J. et al. Interspecific odors as cues for runway behavior. Psychon Sci 20, 166–167 (1970). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335653
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335653