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SAME/DIFFERENT CONCEPT LEARNING IN THE PIGEON: THE EFFECT OF NEGATIVE INSTANCES AND PRIOR ADAPTATION TO TRANSFER STIMULI
Author(s) -
Zentall Thomas R.,
Hogan E.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1938-3711
pISSN - 0022-5002
DOI - 10.1901/jeab.1978.30-177
Subject(s) - novelty , matching (statistics) , negative transfer , transfer of learning , stimulus (psychology) , task (project management) , artificial intelligence , discrimination learning , communication , adaptation (eye) , psychology , computer science , cognitive psychology , mathematics , statistics , social psychology , neuroscience , management , first language , economics , linguistics , philosophy
Pigeons were trained on a matching‐to‐sample or oddity‐from‐sample task with shapes (circle and plus). Half of each group was exposed to “negative instance” trials i.e ., for matching birds, neither comparison key matched the sample, and for oddity birds both comparison keys matched the sample. When all birds were transferred to a new task involving colors (red and green), nonshifted birds (transferred from matching to matching, or oddity to oddity) performed significantly better than shifted birds (transferred from matching to oddity, or oddity to matching), but only if they had experienced negative instances of the training concept. When all birds were exposed to negative instances of the transfer task and then transferred to a new color task (yellow and blue), dramatic transfer effects were observed. The effect of pre‐exposure to the yellow and blue colors, in order to reduce transfer‐stimulus novelty, had a minor effect on transfer.