Pigeons' Inferences Are Transitive and the Outcome of Elementary Conditioning Principles: A Response

Contrary to Markovits and Dumas (1992), this article maintains that, although semantically questionable, the transitive-inference performance in pigeons demonstrated by Fersen, Wynne, Delius, and Staddon (1991) was impeccably transitive. Fersen et al. proposed a local rule to account for performance. Couvillon and Bitterman (1992) provided a rationale for such a rule by pointing out that the equally reinforced central stimuli, B, C, and D, are unequally unreinforced. This article shows that many models that recognize an effect of nonreinforcement on stimulus value give similar results. Therefore, Couvillon and Bitterman's argument that nothing beyond conventional conditioning principles is necessary to account for the transitive-inference effect in pigeons is supported.

Duke Scholars

Author John E. R. Staddon Psychology & Neuroscience