Journal article
The role of category density in pigeons' tracking of relevant information
Learning & behavior, Vol.47(3), pp.234-244
09/2019
DOI: 10.3758/s13420-019-00372-x
PMCID: PMC6679816
PMID: 30719680
Abstract
Prior categorization studies have shown that pigeons reliably track features that are relevant to category discrimination. In these studies, category exemplars contained two relevant and two irrelevant features; therefore, category density (specifically, the relevant to irrelevant information ratio) was relatively high. Here, we manipulated category density both between and within subjects by keeping constant the amount of relevant information (one feature) and varying the amount of irrelevant information (one or three features). One group of pigeons started with low-density training, then proceeded to high-density training, and finally returned to low-density training (Low-High-Low); a second group of pigeons started with high-density training and then proceeded to low-density training (High-Low). The statistical density of the category exemplars had a large effect on pigeons' performance. Training with high-density exemplars greatly benefitted category learning. Accuracy rose faster and to a higher level with high-density training than with low-density training; the percentage of relevant pecks showed a very similar pattern. In addition, high-density training (in the Low-High-Low group) led to an increase in performance on the more difficult low-density task, an observation reminiscent of the easy-to-hard effect. These results illuminate factors affecting pigeons' accuracy and tracking of relevant information in visual categorization.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The role of category density in pigeons' tracking of relevant information
- Creators
- Cassandra L Sheridan - Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, 301 East Jefferson Street, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USALeyre Castro - Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, 301 East Jefferson Street, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA. leyre-castroruiz@uiowa.eduSol Fonseca - University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto RicoEdward A Wasserman - Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, 301 East Jefferson Street, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Learning & behavior, Vol.47(3), pp.234-244
- DOI
- 10.3758/s13420-019-00372-x
- PMID
- 30719680
- PMCID
- PMC6679816
- NLM abbreviation
- Learn Behav
- ISSN
- 1543-4494
- eISSN
- 1543-4508
- Publisher
- United States
- Grant note
- P01 HD080679 / NICHD NIH HHS
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/2019
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984070709402771
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