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"Transitive inference" in multiple conditional discriminations.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Higa, JJ; Staddon, JE
Published in: Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
March 1993

We used multiple conditional discriminations to study the inferential abilities of pigeons. Using a five-term stimulus series, pigeons were trained to respond differentially to four overlapping pairs of concurrently presented stimuli: A+ B-, B+ C-, C+ D-, and D+ E-, where plus and minus indicate the stimulus associated with reinforcement and extinction, respectively. Transitive inference in such situations has been defined as a preference for Stimulus B over Stimulus D in a transfer test. We measured this and other untrained preferences (A vs. C, A vs. D, B vs. E, etc.) during nonreinforced test trials. In three experiments using a novel, rapid training procedure (termed autorun), we attempted to identify the necessary and sufficient conditions for transitive inference. We used two versions of autorun: response-based, in which the subject was repeatedly presented with the least well-discriminated stimulus pair; and time-based, in which the subject was repeatedly presented with the least-experienced stimulus pair. In Experiment 1, using response-based autorun, we showed that subjects learned the four stimulus pairs faster than, but at a level comparable to, a previous study on transitive inference in pigeons (Fersen, Wynne, Delius, & Staddon, 1991), but our animals failed to show transitive inference. Experiments 2 and 3 compared time- and response-based autorun. Discrimination performance was maintained, but transitive inference was observed only on the second exposure to the response-based procedure. These results show that inferential behavior in pigeons is not a reliable concomitant of good performance on a series of overlapping discriminations. The necessary and sufficient conditions for transitive inference in pigeons remain to be fully defined.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior

DOI

EISSN

1938-3711

ISSN

0022-5002

Publication Date

March 1993

Volume

59

Issue

2

Start / End Page

265 / 291

Related Subject Headings

  • Problem Solving
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual
  • Mental Recall
  • Discrimination Learning
  • Columbidae
  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • Attention
  • Association Learning
  • Appetitive Behavior
  • Animals
 

Citation

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Higa, J. J., & Staddon, J. E. (1993). "Transitive inference" in multiple conditional discriminations. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 59(2), 265–291. https://doi.org/10.1901/jeab.1993.59-265
Higa, J. J., and J. E. Staddon. “"Transitive inference" in multiple conditional discriminations.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior 59, no. 2 (March 1993): 265–91. https://doi.org/10.1901/jeab.1993.59-265.
Higa JJ, Staddon JE. "Transitive inference" in multiple conditional discriminations. Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior. 1993 Mar;59(2):265–91.
Higa, J. J., and J. E. Staddon. “"Transitive inference" in multiple conditional discriminations.Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, vol. 59, no. 2, Mar. 1993, pp. 265–91. Epmc, doi:10.1901/jeab.1993.59-265.
Higa JJ, Staddon JE. "Transitive inference" in multiple conditional discriminations. Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior. 1993 Mar;59(2):265–291.

Published In

Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior

DOI

EISSN

1938-3711

ISSN

0022-5002

Publication Date

March 1993

Volume

59

Issue

2

Start / End Page

265 / 291

Related Subject Headings

  • Problem Solving
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual
  • Mental Recall
  • Discrimination Learning
  • Columbidae
  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • Attention
  • Association Learning
  • Appetitive Behavior
  • Animals