Abstract
Pigeons were trained in a forced choice task with four alternatives to categorize arrays consisting of 1, 3, 5, or 8 dots. Before the pigeons chose a comparison stimulus, they were required to peck each dot sequentially. A single peck to a dot, which was defined as an indicating response, changed the color of the dot so that it was differentiated from those that remained to be counted. The pigeons successfully learned to categorize the numerical arrays and then displayed transfer to novel arrays consisting of two, four, six, or seven dots, in a manner according to the order of 1 < 2 < 3 < 4 < 5 < 6 < 7 < 8. Subsequent tests revealed that the pigeons discriminated the stimuli by relying on the number of indicating responses. They also utilized multiple information (surface area, time, and other confounded events), but this was of minor significance, and after training, the pigeons were able to disregard these cues.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Allik, J., & Tuulmets, T. (1991). Occupancy model of perceived numerosity. Perception & Psychophysics, 49, 303–314.
Alsop, B., & Honig, W. K. (1991). Sequential stimuli and relative numerosity discriminations in pigeons. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 17, 386–395.
Boysen, S., Berntson, G. G., Shreyer, T. A., & Hannan, M. B. (1995). Indicating acts during counting by a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 109, 47–51.
Brannon, E. M., & Terrace, H. S. (2000). Representation of the numerosities 1–9 by rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 26, 31–49.
Breukelaar, J. W. C., & Dalrymple-Alford, J. C. (1998). Timing ability and numerical competence in rats. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 24, 84–97.
Cantlon, J. F., & Brannon, E. M. (2007). How much does number matter to a monkey (Macaca mulatta)? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 33, 32–41.
Capaldi, E. J., & Miller, D. J. (1988). Counting in rats: Its functional significance and the independent cognitive processes that constitute it. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 14, 3–7.
Chen, C.-S. (1967). Can rats count? Nature, 214, 15–17.
Cramér, H. (1999). Mathematical methods of statistics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Davis, H., & Bradford, S. A. (1986). Counting behavior by rats in a simulated natural environment. Ethology, 73, 265–280.
Davis, H., & Memmott, J. (1982). Counting behavior in animals: A critical evaluation. Psychological Bulletin, 92, 547–571.
Davis, H., & Pérusse, R. (1988). Numerical competence in animals: Definitional issues, current evidence, and a new research agenda. Behavioral & Brain Sciences, 11, 561–615.
Emmerton, J. (1998). Numerosity differences and effects of stimulus density on pigeons’ discrimination performance. Animal Learning & Behavior, 26, 243–256.
Emmerton, J. (2001). Birds’ judgments of number and quantity. In R. G. Cook (Ed.), Avian visual cognition. Available at www.pigeon.psy.tufts.edu/avc/emmerton/default.htm.
Emmerton, J., Lohmann, A., & Niemann, J. (1997). Pigeons’ serial ordering of numerosity with visual arrays. Animal Learning & Behavior, 25, 234–244.
Fernandes, D. M., & Church, R. M. (1982). Discrimination of the number of sequential events by rats. Animal Learning & Behavior, 10, 171–176.
Fetterman, J. G. (1993). Numerosity discrimination: Both time and number matter. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 19, 149–164.
Fetterman, J. G., Stubbs, D. A., & Dreyfus, L. R. (1986). Scaling of events spaced in time. Behavioural Processes, 13, 53–68.
Fuson, K. C. (1988). Children’s counting and concepts of number. New York: Springer.
Gallistel, C. R., & Gelman, R. (2000). Non-verbal numerical cognition: From reals to integers. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4, 59–65.
Gelman, R., & Gallistel, C. R. (1978). The child’s understanding of number. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Gibbon, J. (1977). Scalar expectancy theory and Weber’s law in animal timing. Psychological Review, 84, 279–325.
Koehler, O. (1950). The ability of birds to “count”. Bulletin of Animal Behaviour, 9, 41–45.
Matsuzawa, T. (1985). Use of numbers by a chimpanzee. Nature, 315, 57–59.
Meck, W. H., & Church, R. M. (1983). A mode control model of counting and timing processes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 9, 320–334.
Olthof, A., & Roberts, W. (2000). Summation of symbols by pigeons (Columba livia): The importance of number and mass of reward items. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 114, 158–166.
Olthof, A., & Santi, A. (2007). Pigeons (Columba livia) associate time intervals with symbols in a touch screen task: Evidence for ordinality but not summation. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 121, 82–94.
Pepperberg, I. M. (1994). Numerical competence in an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 108, 36–44.
Platt, J. R., & Johnson, D. M. (1971). Localization of position within a homogeneous behavior chain: Effects of error contingencies. Learning & Motivation, 2, 386–414.
Roberts, W. A. (1995). Simultaneous numerical and temporal processing in the pigeon. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4, 47–51.
Roberts, W. A., & Boisvert, M. J. (1998). Using the peak procedure to measure timing and counting processes in pigeons. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 24, 416–430.
Roberts, W. A., Macuda, T., & Brodbeck, D. R. (1995). Memory for number of light flashes in the pigeon. Animal Learning & Behavior, 23, 182–188.
Roberts, W. A., & Mitchell, S. (1994). Can a pigeon simultaneously process temporal and numerical information? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 20, 66–78.
Suzuki, K., & Kobayashi, T. (2000). Numerical competence in rats (Rattus norvegicus): Davis and Bradford (1986) extended. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 114, 73–85.
Thomas, R. K., Fowlkes, D., & Vickery, J. D. (1980). Conceptual numerousness judgments by squirrel monkeys. American Journal of Psychology, 93, 247–257.
Xia, L., Emmerton, J., Siemann, M., & Delius, J. D. (2001). Pigeons (Columba livia) learn to link numerosities with symbols. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 115, 83–91.
Xia, L., Siemann, M., & Delius, J. D. (2000). Matching of numerical symbols with number of responses by pigeons. Animal Cognition, 3, 35–43.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by research grants from the Japan Society for Promotion of Science to M.J. We are grateful to Tomokazu Ushitani and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this article.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hirai, S., Jitsumori, M. Counting absolute numbers of items, from 1 to 8, in pigeons. Learning & Behavior 37, 365–379 (2009). https://doi.org/10.3758/LB.37.4.365
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/LB.37.4.365