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Sturz, Bradley R. Katz Jeffrey S. "Geometric rule learning by pigeons." Auburn, Ala., 2007. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/2006%20Fall/Dissertations/STURZ_BRADLEY_52.pdf.
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Lieving, Lori M. "Effects of intertrial interval and d-amphetamine on temporally organized behavior of pigeons." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2002. http://etd.wvu.edu/templates/showETD.cfm?recnum=2418.
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Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2002.<br>Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 54 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-54).
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Patton, Tadd B. "Altered features of female pigeons (Columba livia) elicit preference behavior in male pigeons." [Tampa, Fla] : University of South Florida, 2006. http://purl.fcla.edu/usf/dc/et/SFE0001656.
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Cole, Heather J. "Sibling alliances in juvenile feral pigeons." Thesis, McGill University, 1996. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=23878.
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This thesis examines whether juvenile feral pigeons, Columba livia, form sibling alliances when competing for access to a defensible food source. When tested as a flock at a non-depletable column feeder, with room for either one or two birds to feed, siblings associated with each other more often than expected by chance. Frequency of aggression between siblings at these feeders tended to be lower than expected on the basis of their association. Removal experiments showed that sibling presence had a positive effect on relative feeding success at the single column feeder: a juvenile who lost to another juvenile on a one-to-one basis tended, in the presence of its sibling, to lose less badly to, or even beat, that same juvenile. In contrast, presence of the winner's sibling tended not to affect the relative feeding success of competitors. These results support the hypothesis that pigeon siblings form aggressive alliances when competing for food that is defensible.
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Hernandez, Michelle Katz Jeffrey S. "Factors in two-dimensional maze navigation by pigeons." Auburn, Ala, 2008. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/EtdRoot/2008/SPRING/Psychology/Dissertation/Hernandez_Michelle_24.pdf.
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Elcoro, Mirari. "Delayed disruption of temporally controlled behavior." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2008. https://eidr.wvu.edu/etd/documentdata.eTD?documentid=5793.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2008.<br>Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 80 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-80).
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Aló, Raquel Moreira. "Effects of alternative-food sources on operant behavior." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2008. https://eidr.wvu.edu/etd/documentdata.eTD?documentid=5810.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2008.<br>Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 68 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-68).
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Willson, Robert James. "Evidence that pigeons are not lost in space : pigeons perform well at long retention intervals on a modified delayed matching of key location task." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/28310.
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The present series of experiments examined pigeons' spatial working memory using two variants of the delayed matching of key location paradigm (Wilkie & Summer, 1982). Exposure to the sample location was extended to 15 min and pecks to this stimulus (S+) produced grain on a variable interval 30-s schedule (the 1 Cue group). For some subjects (the 2 Cues group) both the positive and negative (S-) stimuli were presented during the sample period. In a subsequent test phase subjects were exposed to both the S+ and S- for 1 min. If the subject made more responses to the S+ an additional 15 min of access to the S+ occurred, with grain available on the previous schedule. If more responses were made to the S- the trial terminated and the subject was immediately removed from the apparatus.
In the first experiment all subjects performed well with retention intervals of up to 30 s, a level of performance better than previously demonstrated in the delayed matching of key location (Wilkie & Summers, 1982). However, subjects' performance was disrupted when they were removed from the apparatus during the retention interval. Subjects in the 1 Cue group were more severely disrupted than the subjects in the 2 Cues group. Performance improved dramatically when these subjects were subsequently trained and tested on the 2 cues condition.
Experiment 2 examined the differences between the 1 cue and 2 cues tasks further. All subjects were run for 30 trials on each task and removed from the apparatus during the retention interval. Performance on the 2 cues task was significantly higher for all subjects. When subjects were switched to the 1 cue task, performance immediately dropped and remained at a low level for all blocks tested. The observed differences probably reflect the operation of transfer appropriate processing (cf. Morris, Bransford, & Franks, 1977), given the similarity between training and testing on the 2 cues task.
Experiment 3 used the 2 cues task to examine the performance of pigeons when retention intervals longer than 30 s were imposed between training and testing. The retention interval was incremented in the following stages: 5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 1 hr, 2 hr, 4 hr, 8 hr, 12 hr and 24 hr. Subjects were run until their performance fell below a criterion (70% accuracy or better for a block of 10 trials). When a subject failed to attain criterion within 3 blocks, no further data were collected from that subject. Subjects' upper retention limit varied somewhat, ranging from a minimum of 30 min to a maximum of 24 hr, but the performance of most subjects began to deteriorate at about 4 hr, a level considerably above the upper limit previously demonstrated in other paradigms (30 min-Spetch & Honig, 1988).
Experiment 4 was a systematic replication of Experiment 3, using a mixed, rather than an incremental, schedule of retention intervals. Performance was not quite as good. For most subjects performance began to deteriorate at about 2 hr, somewhat sooner than in Experiment 3, but nevertheless higher than the level of performance seen in other paradigms. The results of the present experiments are interpreted in terms of the ecological validity of the procedures employed. The implications of the present studies for the study of "adaptive specializations in cognition" (Sherry, 1984; Sherry & Schacter, 1987), are also discussed, as are the implications for the distinction between reference and working memory.<br>Arts, Faculty of<br>Psychology, Department of<br>Graduate
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Smith, Aaron P. "The Balloon Analogue Risk Task and Behavioral Correlates in Pigeons." UKnowledge, 2015. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_etds/81.
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Individuals experience risk ubiquitously, but measuring risk taking is difficult. The balloon analogue risk task (BART) was developed in order to assess risk taking through having subjects press a key that accrues reward but also risk losing all reward with each press. In humans, greater responding in this task is associated with other maladaptive risk taking behaviors. The present research modeled this relationship in pigeons due to their previously shown propensity towards risk taking behavior. Experiment 1 used an unsignaled balloon task in which losing could only occur after 5 pecks. Results showed below optimal performance with greater pecks associated with faster acquisition of risk taking in the suboptimal choice task and evidence of modulation by delay discounting measures. Experiment 2 signaled the number of pecks with colors and tested multiple hoppers as a reinforcement modality to increase performance. Results showed only signaling the number of pecks improved performance and was related to performance in the high risk BART task. Both the low and high risk variants were associated with slower suboptimal choice acquisition and again had evidence of modulation by delay discounting measures. Potential shared underlying mechanisms are discussed.
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Johnson, Robert N. "Attention Factors in Temopral Distortion: The Effects of Food Availability on Responses within the Interval Bisection Task." DigitalCommons@USU, 2013. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1722.
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There are differences within the timing literature regarding the effects of distracter stimulus presentation within timing tasks. Whereas some researchers have found underestimation (changes in the degree of temporal stimulus control), others have found generalized disruption of timing responses. The purpose of this thesis was to determine the importance of food availability on responses within a time estimation task, using pigeons as subjects. Specifically, it was hypothesized that presenting food access following timing responses after a distracter task would produce underestimation of the target interval, relative to control conditions. Using a 2-parameter function fit to "proportion long" data from the interval bisection task, data revealed a generalized disruption effect of the distracter on timing behavior. Further analysis revealed that presentation of the food following timing responses after the distracter task reduced stimulus control within the timing task, revealing underestimation of the target interval. These findings suggest that the causes of the differences within the timing literature may be based upon differences in procedure.
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Galuska, Chad M. "Reducing pausing during rich-to-lean schedule transitions effects of reinforcer context and cue accuracy /." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2003. http://etd.wvu.edu/templates/showETD.cfm?recnum=2944.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2003.<br>Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 76 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-76).
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Kuroda, Toshikazu. "An experimental analysis of jackpotting." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10450/10391.
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Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2009.<br>Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 68 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-58).
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Hart, Julie A. "Foraging in patches : the effect of encountering a predator in a formerly risk-free environment /." free to MU campus, to others for purchase, 1997. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p9841146.
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Christensen, Darren Robert. "The Extended Decision Model." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/3441.
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The quantification of choice has been a major area of research for behavioural scientists for several decades. This is, in part, due to the discovery of the matching law (Herrnstein, 1961) which stipulates that relative response rates on concurrently available alternatives “match” the available relative reinforcement rates. This theoretical construct has been developed to describe response allocation in more complex situations, such as concurrent chains, and successfully describes both human and non-human behaviour. Typically, this phenomenon becomes evident when behaviour settles at an asymptote after several sessions of training where contingencies are held constant, and is often called “steady-state” behaviour. However, a fundamental question still remains: what causes matching – that is, what are the underlying momentary process(es) that produce matching? Researchers have suggested that what is necessary to answer this question is to take a molecular approach to the analysis of choice behaviour, thereby assessing choice in transition (Grace, 2002a). Recently, a new model of choice acquisition has been developed that appears to offer promise. It combines two separate mechanisms; a “winner-takes-all” categorical discrimination, and a linear-operator acquisition process (Grace & McLean, 2006). The initial results suggest this model could provide an alternative explanation for what underlies matching – that two separate processes are cooccurring in the acquisition of choice behaviour – allowing response allocation to be either linear or non-linear. This thesis extends the Grace and McLean model to include the situation of response strength ‘carrying-over’ from session to session to describe the process of acquisition gradually accumulating with experience. Moreover, additional assumptions have been added to describe temporal phenomena 2 and presumed discounting of previous experience on current choice behaviour. A steady-state version of the extended model was derived and, when fitted to published data sets, describes choice behaviour equally well when compared to existing models of steady-state choice. As a consequence of these additions, the Extended Decision Model (EDM) predicts a unique response allocation pattern – choice behaviour follows a bitonic function when initial-link durations were increased and the terminallink delays were held constant. The results from experiments presented in this thesis support this prediction, whilst steady-state analyses found the EDM was parameter invariant – differences between parameters from two schedule types across several archival data sets were non-significant, while existing steady-state models had significant differences. These findings provide further support for the claim that the EDM and the Decision Model (DM) mechanisms provide unique and accurate descriptions of the molecular processes governing choice behaviour. Moreover, the implication from these results is that the underlying assumption of the EDM and DM – that choice is determined by the propensity to respond rather than conditioned reinforcement – appears to have further foundation. This challenges the assumptions of existing models of choice behaviour and presents the possibility that probabilistic approaches are perhaps more appropriate for describing response allocations than discrete estimates of relative value when contingencies change.
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Kyonka, Elizabeth Grace Evelyn. "Identifying the mechanisms that generate choice and timing behavior in dynamic concurrent choice procedures." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/4186.
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Cognitive theories of timing and conditioned reinforcement provide two different theoretical perspectives on choice between delayed rewards. The primary objective of this research was to identify the process that generates choice in the concurrent-chains procedure and to characterize its relationship with temporal control. Experiments 1-3 investigated the relationship between the dynamics of pigeons’ preference and temporal control in concurrent chains using an arrangement in which the delays to reinforcement changed unpredictably across sessions. To obtain convergent measures of choice and timing behavior, occasional ‘no-food’ terminal links lasted longer than the schedule values and ended without reinforcement. Measures of choice (log initial-link response ratios) and timing (start and stop times from no-food terminal links) stabilized within individual sessions. Sensitivity of log response ratios to relative immediacy increased as initial-link duration decreased or absolute terminal-link delays increased, but absolute initial- and terminal-link duration did not affect temporal control. Residual covariation analyses of log response ratios with log start and stop time ratios confirmed that measures of choice and timing were interdependent. Experiments 4 and 5 used concurrent-chains procedures in which immediacy, magnitude (and probability, in Experiment 5) ratios for left and right keys were 2:1 or 1:2, determined across sessions by independent, random series. Experiment 6 was a concurrent schedule in which relative reinforcement rate and magnitude were 2:1 or 1:2, determined the same way. Multiple regression analyses showed that pigeons’ response allocation in Experiments 4-6 was sensitive to multiple dimensions of reinforcement. Levels of preference within individual sessions and initial links or interfood intervals was more extreme when all dimensions favored the same key than when at least one dimension favored each key, consistent with assumptions of the generalized matching law. Within individual sessions, changes in response allocation in all experiments tended to be abrupt, consistent with the assumptions of Rate Estimation Theory (Gallistel & Gibbon, 2000). A decision model that posits a comparison between delayed outcomes with a criterion delay (Grace & McLean, 2006) described initial-link responding in Experiments 1-3. A modified decision model in which outcome expectancy is compared to an expectancy criterion described responding in Experiments 4-6.
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Andrews, Danielle M. "IS PECKING AVERSIVE TO A PIGEON OR IS IT ONLY THE DELAY TO REINFORCEMENT?" UKnowledge, 2018. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_etds/137.
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The principle of least effort suggests that animals should minimize effort to reinforcement. Thus, not pecking should be preferred over pecking. However, pigeons often peck when it is allowed but not required (e.g., fixed time schedules) but pecking may be adventitiously reinforced. In the present experiment, to better compare a schedule of reinforcement that requires pecking with one that requires the absence of pecking, we compared a fixed-interval (FI) schedule in which reinforcement follows the first peck after the interval has elapsed and a differential-reinforcement-of-other behavior (DRO) schedule which requires pigeons abstain from pecking for a similar interval. The delay to reinforcement was matched on a trial-by-trial basis by extending the duration of the FI to match the DRO schedule that preceded it. Of 12 pigeons, 6 preferred the DRO schedule over the FI schedule and 6 did not show a schedule preference. Those that were indifferent between the schedules had acquired the contingences, as they responded appropriately to the two schedules but had a spatial preference stronger than their schedule preference. Individual differences in the preference of the pigeons may be related to their behavior during the DRO.
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Pinkston, Jonathan W. "Behavioral sensitization to cocaine in pigeons." [Gainesville, Fla.] : University of Florida, 2005. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE0010080.
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Palameta, Boris. "The importance of socially transmitted information in the acquisition of novel foraging skills by pigeons and canaries." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.238208.
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Dickson, Chata A. "Historical response rates, reinforcement context, and behavioral persistence." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10450/10746.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009.<br>Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 88 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-78).
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Reid, Sheri Lynn. "Search for hidden objects by pigeons: Place learning vs "object permanence"." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/9707.
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Mental representation of hidden objects by pigeons was tested for. Experiment 1 used a series of Piagetian tests of "object permanence" to measure pigeons' capacity to find a stationary food target behind a screen. Performance on these tests did not differ significantly from chance in spite of manipulations designed to enhance the motivational value of the hidden object. Experiment 2 used operant contingencies to test whether pigeons could mentally represent a moving dot on a computer monitor that temporarily "disappeared" behind a screen. Two target durations were used (12 and 24 seconds) for the dot to move across a computer screen. Pigeons were reinforced if their first keypeck occurred when the dot was hidden but not if it occurred when the dot was visible. Phase 1 consisted of target-12 trials, phase 2 consisted of target-24 trials, and phase 3 consisted of alternating sessions of target-12 and target-24 trials. Results demonstrate that while pigeons were able to use timing strategies to respond correctly with an unconstrained choice method, evidence for the use of mental representations by pigeons was inconclusive. Both experiments are discussed in terms of the mechanisms used by pigeons to find hidden objects.
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Flack, Andrea. "Collective decision-making in homing pigeon navigation." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:55ca08f4-404d-4897-ac80-5c832f984c24.
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This thesis focuses on conflict resolution and collective decision-making in co-navigating pigeons, Columba livia. These birds have a remarkable homing ability and frequently fly in flocks. Group navigation demands that group members reach consensus on which path to follow, but the mechanisms by which they do so remain largely unexplored. Pigeons are particularly suitable for studying these mechanisms, due to their sociality and the fact that their possession of information can easily be altered and quantified. I present the results of a series of experiments that manipulated the experience of homing pigeons in various ways so as to observe the effect of information they had previously gathered on their group behaviour. Key findings were: Previous navigational experience contributes to the establishment of leader-follower relationships. The larger the difference in experience between two co-navigating pigeons, the higher the likelihood the more experienced bird will emerge as leader. Shared homing experience through repeated joint flights can allow two pigeons to develop into a “behavioural unit”. They form spatial sub-groups when flying with less familiar birds, and perform a similar transition between compromise- and leadership-dominated flights as single birds, although they are more likely to accept compromise routes. Such previous association histories between birds can thus affect collective decision-making in larger flocks. There is a trade-off between the amount of spatial information handled and the efficiency with which such information can be applied during homing. Leading/following behaviour is influenced by the recency of the route memories. Leadership hierarchies in pigeon flocks appear resistant to changes in the navigational knowledge of a subset of their members, at least when these changes are relatively small in magnitude. The stability of the hierarchical structure might be beneficial during decision-making. Mathematical modelling suggests that underlying hierarchical social structures can increase navigational accuracy. Hierarchically organised groups with the smallest number of strong connections achieve highest accuracy. Group leader-follower dynamics resemble the underlying social structure.
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Lapiedra, i. González Oriol. "Behavioral changes, ecological niches and adaptive diversification in pigeons and doves." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/129322.
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L'extraordinària diversitat de l'ecologia, morfologia, comportament, i la riquesa d'espècies en tot l'arbre de la vida ha interessat els investigadors des de fa molt de temps. No obstant, entendre com i per què els llinatges es diversifiquen en el seu fenotip i en nombre d’espècies segueix sent un repte important en biología evolutiva. La diversificació evolutiva és un procés complex, influit per múltiples factors de diferent naturalesa. L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és obtenir una visió integrada dels mecanismes que han portat a la diversitat biològica actual del grup dels coloms (ordre Columbiformes) mitjançant la incorporació d'un factor clau que ha estat àmpliament ignorat en els estudis evolutius: el paper del comportament dels animals. L'objectiu fonamental de la tesi és mostrar com els canvis en el comportament poden donar forma a l'evolució permetent als individus modificar la forma en què interactuen amb el seu entorn -el seu nínxol ecològic-. Aquests canvis poden modificar la forma de les pressions de selección que afecten les poblacions animals, afavorint d'aquesta manera la selecció divergent que pot promoure la diversificació adaptativa. La tesi aborda quatre objectius principals: el primer és descriure la influència dels canvis de comportament en la diversificació d'adaptació d'un llinatge (Capítol II). En segon lloc, mostrar com la integració d'aquests canvis de comportament amb els factors geogràfics i ecològics ens proporciona una millor comprensió d'aquest procés (capítol III). En tercer lloc, descric un nou mètode implementat per millorar l’estudi de les diferències que poden existir en els nínxols ecològics dels individus i les poblacions, cosa que és nescessària per poder vincular els canvis de comportament amb canvis evolutius (capítol IV). Finalment, utilitzo una aproximació experimental utilitzant coloms roquers (Columba livia) com a organisme model per tal d’entendre l'origen de la variació ecològica existent dins de les poblacions. Aquest treball se centra en el paper de la competència entre individus i l’experiència prèvia en lús dels recursos com a principals motors de la diferenciació de nínxols entre els individus dins d’una població (capítol V).<br>The extraordinary diversity of ecology, morphology, behavior, and species richness across the tree of life has long interested researchers. Understanding why and how lineages diversify in phenotype and species numbers remains, however, a major challenge in evolutionary biology because evolutionary diversification is a complex process influenced by a number of factors of diverse nature. The aim to this thesis is to obtain an integrated picture of the mechanisms that have led to the current biological diversity of pigeons and doves (order Columbiformes) by incorporating a crucial factor that has largely been neglected in evolutionary studies: the role of behavior. The general goal of the thesis is to show how changes in behavior can shape evolution by allowing individuals to modify the way they interact with their environment -their ecological niche. Such changes can modify the way selective pressures affect populations, thus favoring divergent selection that can promote adaptive diversification. The thesis addresses four main goals: the first is to describe the influence of behavioral changes in the adaptive diversification of a lineage (Chapter II). Second, I aim to show how the integration of such behavioral changes with geographical and ecological factors provides us with a better understanding of this process (Chapter III). Third, I describe a new method implemented to better study differences among the ecological niches of individuals and populations, which is necessary to link behavioural and evolutionary changes (Chapter IV). Finally, I use an experimental approach in feral pigeons (Columba livia) to understand the origin of existing ecological variation within populations, focusing on the role of increased competition and previous experience as main drivers of niche differentiation among individuals (Chapter V).
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Pettit, Benjamin G. "Consequences and mechanisms of leadership in pigeon flocks." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d3a6260b-483c-4c60-a993-49b7e111dfc6.
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This thesis investigates how collective decisions in bird flocks arise from simple rules, the factors that give some birds more influence over a flock's direction, and how travelling as a flock affects spatial learning. I used GPS loggers to track pigeons homing alone and in flocks, and applied mathematical modelling to explore the mechanisms underlying group decisions. Across several experiments, the key results were as follows: Flying home with a more experienced individual not only gave a pigeon an immediate advantage in terms of taking a more direct route, but the followers also learned homing routes just as accurately as pigeons flying alone. This shows that using social cues did not interfere with learning about the landscape during a series of paired flights. Pigeons that were faster during solo homing flights also tended to fly at the front of flocks, where they had more influence over the direction taken. Analysis of momentary interactions during paired flights and simulations of pair trajectories support the conclusion that speed increases the likelihood of leading. A pigeon's solo homing efficiency before flock flights did not correlate with leadership in flocks of ten, but leaders did have more efficient solo tracks when tested after a series of flock flights. A possible explanation is that leaders attended more to the landscape and therefore learned faster. Flocks took straighter routes than pigeons flying alone, as would be expected if they effectively pooled information. In addition, pigeons responded more strongly to the direction of several neighbours, during flock flights, than to a single neighbour during paired flights. This behaviour makes sense adaptively because social information will be more reliable when following several conspecifics compared to one. Through a combination of high-resolution tracking and mathematical modelling, this thesis sheds light on the mechanisms of flocking and its navigational consequences.
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Long, Jessica B. "The behavioral functions of stimuli signaling transitions across rich and lean schedules of reinforcement." Morgantown, W. Va. : [West Virginia University Libraries], 2005. https://eidr.wvu.edu/etd/documentdata.eTD?documentid=4444.
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Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2005.<br>Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 39 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-39).
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Varnon, Christopher A. "A Stimulus Control Analysis of Imprinting in a Human-Reared Pigeon." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2011. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc84297/.
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Events that occur early in the life of birds greatly influence social and sexual preferences throughout the course of life. Traditionally, this is explained by a learning process known as imprinting. Young birds are thought to imprint to early stimuli, causing the development of permanent preferences for those stimuli. In the present study, imprinting is examined with respect to behaviors of an adult human-reared pigeon in several conditions. The subject was either presented with no stimulus, a conspecific stimulus, a novel stimulus, a human stimulus, or the human and novel stimuli simultaneously. Several phases within these conditions were employed to pinpoint the variables that produced the most social and sexual behavior. The results showed that while some conditions produced unclear behavior, other conditions produced very clear indications of sexual preference for humans and fear of conspecifics. The results suggest that the concept of imprinting may not be needed to explain the sexual preference of the subject, and that operant contingencies may play a large role in sexual behavior.
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Stagner, Jessica P. "INVESTIGATION OF THE MONTY HALL DILEMMA IN PIGEONS AND RATS." UKnowledge, 2013. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_etds/31.
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In the Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD), three doors are presented with a prize behind one and participants are instructed to choose a door. One of the unchosen doors is then shown to not have the prize and the participant can choose to stay with their door or switch to the other one. The optimal strategy is to switch. Herbranson and Schroeder (2010) found that humans performed poorly on this task, whereas pigeons learned to switch readily. However, we found that pigeons learned to switch at level only slightly above humans. We also found that pigeons stay nearly exclusively when staying is the optimal strategy and when staying and switching are reinforced equally (Stagner, Rayburn-Reeves, & Zentall, 2013).
In Experiment 1, rats were trained under these same conditions to observe if possible differences in foraging strategy would influence performance on this task. In Experiment 2, pigeons were trained in an analogous procedure to better compare the two species. We found that both species were sensitive to the overall probability of reinforcement, as both switched significantly more often than subjects in a group that were reinforced equally for staying and switching and a group that was reinforced more often for staying. Overall, the two species performed very similarly within the parameters of the current procedure.
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Coppola, Vincent Jesse. "Age-Related Impairment of Spatial Working Memory in Homing Pigeons (Columba livia)." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1399653220.
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Mann, Richard Philip. "Prediction of homing pigeon flight paths using Gaussian processes." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2010. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:bf6c3fb5-5208-4dfe-aa0a-6e6da45c0d87.
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Studies of avian navigation are making increasing use of miniature Global Positioning Satellite devices, to regularly record the position of birds in flight with high spatial and temporal resolution. I suggest a novel approach to analysing the data sets pro- duced in these experiments, focussing on studies of the domesticated homing pigeon (Columba Livia) in the local, familiar area. Using Gaussian processes and Bayesian inference as a mathematical foundation I develop and apply a statistical model to make quantitative predictions of homing pigeon flight paths. Using this model I show that pigeons, when released repeatedly from the same site, learn and follow a habitual route back to their home loft. The model reveals the rate of route learning and provides a quantitative estimate of the habitual route complete with associated spatio-temporal covariance. Furthermore I show that this habitual route is best described by a sequence of isolated waypoints rather than as a continuous path, and that these waypoints are preferentially found in certain terrain types, being especially rare within urban and forested environments. As a corollary I demonstrate an extension of the flight path model to simulate ex- periments where pigeons are released in pairs, and show that this can account for observed large scale patterns in such experiments based only on the individual birds’ previous behaviour in solo flights, making a successful quantitative prediction of the critical value associated with a non-linear behavioural transition.
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Febbo, Stacy M. "Effects of stimulant drugs on self-control choices in pigeons : determining behavioral mechanisms of drug action /." Electronic version (PDF), 2003. http://dl.uncw.edu/etd/2003/febbos/stacyfebbo.pdf.
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Rayburn-Reeves, Rebecca Marie. "AN ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIORAL FLEXIBILITY AND CUE PREFERENCE IN PIGEONS UNDER VARIABLE REVERSAL LEARNING CONDITIONS." UKnowledge, 2011. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_etds/1.
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Behavioral flexibility, the ability to change behavior in accordance with the changing environment, was studied in pigeons using a series of reversal learning paradigms. All experiments involved a series of 5-trial sequences and I was interested in whether pigeons are sensitive to the reversal by switching to the other alternative after a single error. In Experiments 1 and 2, the overall probability of the two stimuli was equated over sequences, but the probability correct of the two stimuli changed across trials. In both experiments, subjects showed no sensitivity to the differences in sequence type. Instead they used the overall average of the probability of reinforcement on each trial as the basis of choice.
In the final two experiments, the likelihood that a reversal would occur on a given trial was equated such that there was an equal overall probability that the two stimuli would be correct on a given trial, but the overall probability of each stimulus being correct across sequences favored the second correct stimulus (S2). In Experiment 3, the overall probability of S2 correct was 80%, and results showed that subjects consistently chose S2 regardless of sequence type or trial number. In Experiment 4, the overall likelihood of S2 correct was 65%, and results showed that subjects began all sequences at chance, and as the sequence progressed, began choosing S2 more often.
In all experiments, subjects showed remarkably similar behavior regardless of where (or whether) the reversal occurred in a given sequence. Therefore, subjects appeared to be insensitive to the consequences of responses within a sequence (local information) and instead, seemed to be averaging over the sequences based on the overall probability of reinforcement for S1 or S2 being correct on each trial (aggregate information), thus not maximizing overall reinforcement. Together, the results of this series of experiments suggest that pigeons have a basic disposition for using the overall probability instead of using local feedback cues provided by the outcome of individual trials. The fact that pigeons do not use the more optimal information afforded by recent reinforcement contingencies to maximize reinforcement has implications for their use of flexible response strategies under reversal learning conditions.
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Sizemore, Brittany A. "Time-of-Day Associative Learning to Spatial or Feature Information in Homing Pigeons (Columba livia)." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1447777465.
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Acerbi, Merissa Lynne. "Neural Processing of Magnetic Intensity Cues by Lesioned Homing Pigeons (Columba livia) in a Magnetic Conditioning Paradigm." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu14913435853746.
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Thrailkill, Eric A. "Examining the Effects of Reinforcement Context on Relapse of Observing." DigitalCommons@USU, 2011. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/875.
Full textAbstract:
Attentional biases occur with various psychological disorders, including drugaddiction and anxiety. Conditioned reinforcement likely plays a role in maintainingattentional biases to stimuli associated with reinforcement for unwanted behavior. Theobserving-response procedure is considered a model of attending as reflected byresponding maintained by conditioned reinforcement. Effects of primary reinforcement on the persistence of observing have been studied in the framework of behavioral momentum theory. Studies have shown observing-responses to be more resistant tochange in contexts arranging relatively higher rates of primary reinforcement. Recently, behavioral momentum theory has been extended to describe the effects of primary reinforcement context in relapse phenomena. The present thesis aimed to extend research on the resistance to change of observing to animal models of relapse. Pigeons responded on a two-component multiple schedule of observing-response procedures. In a rich component, observing responses produced stimuli correlated with a high rate of variableinterval (VI) food reinforcement (Rich S+). In a lean component, observing responses produced stimuli correlated with a low rate of VI food reinforcement (Lean S+). Following stable performance, responding was extinguished by removing food and S+ presentations. After extinction, relapse was assessed by reinstatement tests consisting of response-independent presentations of food or S+. Replicating earlier results, observingand food-key responding was more resistant to extinction in the Rich component. Food reinstatement had no systematic effect on extinguished food- and observing-key responding. However, S+ reinstatement resulted in relapse of extinguished observingand food-key responding. Relapse during S+ reinstatement was greater in the Rich component than the Lean component. Reinstatement of responding by S+ presentations resulted in a greater overall increase in responding on the food-key relative to the observing-key. This result suggests that an important functional relationship between the presence of S+ stimuli and increased rates of primary reinforcement for food key responding remained intact during extinction. The results show that observing is susceptible to relapse, and the magnitude of relapse depends on baseline primary reinforcement rate in a context.
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Thrailkill, Eric A. "Token reinforcement and resistance to change." DigitalCommons@USU, 2013. http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1527.
Full textAbstract:
Interventions based on a token economy effectively reduce problematic behavior. Yet, treatment gains deteriorate once an intervention is discontinued. It is important to better understand the persistence of behavior maintained by token reinforcement in simple experimental procedures. A Pavlovian association with primary reinforcement is said to endow neutral stimuli (e.g., coins, poker chips, lights, signs, stickers, etc.) with their own function to strengthen behavior as conditioned reinforcers. Behavioral momentum theory suggests that resistance to change under conditions of disruption is the appropriate measure of response strength. However, some animal studies have suggested that conditioned reinforcement may not affect resistance to change of a response. Here, a novel token reinforcement procedure was developed to investigate the resistance to change of responding maintained by token reinforcement. Pigeons responded on a key to produce tokens displayed on a touchscreen monitor in two signaled token-production components. Tokens accumulated over the two production components prior to a common exchange component where pecks to the tokens on the touchscreen produced food reinforcement. Resistance to change of responding maintained by different rates of token reinforcement was assessed by disrupting baseline token-production responding with presession feeding. Token reinforcement rates had inconsistent effects on baseline token-production response rates. However, small effects of token reinforcement rate on resistance to change were found. Results provide weak support for a response-strengthening account of conditioned reinforcement and insightful directions for future studies of token reinforcement in related procedures.
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Coppola, Vincent Jesse. "Neurocognitive aging in homing pigeons (Columba livia):Further investigation into hippocampal-dependent memory impairment and testing of the cholinergic hypothesis of cognitive decline." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1553609743315119.
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Belguermi, Ahmed. "Comment profiter au mieux de l’information ? Étude chez le canari domestique, Serinus canaria et le pigeon biset Columba livia." Thesis, Paris 10, 2011. http://www.theses.fr/2011PA100030/document.
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La prise d’information est très importante pour les animaux. En effet, le comportement sera mieux adapté s’il s’appuie sur l’évaluation précise des paramètres du milieu. Notre étude porte sur l’utilisation de l’information sociale chez deux espèces d’oiseaux. Deux expériences ont été menées sur le canari domestique (Serinus canaria) en laboratoire, au sein du LECC de Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense. Quatre expériences portant sur le pigeon biset (Columba livia) ont eu lieu en milieu urbain au Jardin des Plantes au centre de Paris.Chez le canari, nous avons démontré une utilisation de l’information sociale, ceci en utilisant des indices visuels et/ou acoustiques dans une activité d’approvisionnement. Les ambiances de chants ont été plus utilisées par les canaris que les cris ; les oiseaux ont été par ailleurs sensibles aux informations ambigües. Chez les pigeons nous avons observé une capacité de discrimination et de reconnaissance d’individus hétérospécifiques (nourrisseurs humains). Deux profils comportementaux ont été mis en évidence (régulier vs occasionnel), ces profils étaient corrélés aux caractéristiques morpho-physiologiques des pigeons. Les pigeons ont été capables aussi d’utiliser des indices acoustiques tel que des cris de prédateurs (cris de : corneilles, goélands et faucons crécerelle), bruit d’envol des congénères et même des cris d’alarme hétérospécifique (merle noir) afin de détecter la présence de danger. Enfin nous avons constaté que la quantité de nourriture disponible influençait le comportement d’approvisionnement des pigeons. En conclusion, les canaris domestiques et les pigeons bisets sont capables d’utiliser différents types d’indices sociaux pendant leurs approvisionnements et extraient des informations à partir de ces indices afin de mieux exploiter les sources de nourrissage<br>Social information, foraging behaviour, urban area, Serinus canaria, Columba liviaGetting information is very important for animals. Indeed, the behavior will be better suited if based on accurate assessment of environmental parameters. Our study focuses on the use of social information in two species of birds. Two experiments were conducted on the domesticated canary (Serinus canaria) in laboratory conditions, at the LECC of the University Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense (France). And four others were conducted on the rock dove (Columba livia) in urban area “Jardin des Plantes” in Paris.In canaries, we demonstrated the use of social information, this by using visual and acoustic cues in foraging activities. The songs noises were more used by the canaries that calls. The birds were still susceptible to ambiguous information. In pigeons, we observed a capacity of discrimination and recognition of heterospecific individuals (human feeders). Two behavioral profiles were identified (regular vs. occasional), these profiles linked to the morpho-physiological characteristics of pigeons. The pigeons were also able to use acoustic cues such as predator calls (crows, gulls, and kestrels), flight noise of conspecifics and even heterospecific alarm calls (Blackbirds) to detect the presence of danger. Finally we found that the quantity of food available played a role on foraging behavior of pigeons.In conclusion, domestic canaries and feral pigeons are able to use different types of social cues when foraging and extract information from these cues for an efficient exploitation of the feeding sources
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Berry, Meredith Steele. "Reinforcer Magnitude and Resistance to Change of Forgetting Functions and Response Rates." DigitalCommons@USU, 2012. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1269.
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The present experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of reinforcer magnitude on resistance to disruption of remembering and response rates. Pigeons were exposed to a variable-interval (VI), delayed-matching-to-sample procedure (DMTS) with two components (rich and lean). Specifically, completion of a VI 20 second (s) multiple schedule resulted in DMTS trials in both components. In a DMTS trial, a choice of one of two comparison stimuli (e.g., blue key) results in reinforcement if the choice matches some property of the sample stimulus presented previously. Sample and comparison stimuli are separated by a delay. Four delays (0.1, 4, 8, and 16 s) were used between the sample and comparison stimuli in the study. The difference between rich and lean components was the length of hopper duration following a correct response. The probability of reinforcement following a correct response in both components was .5. Each pigeon was exposed to 50 sessions of initial baseline and then 30 sessions of baseline between each disruptive condition (extinction, intercomponent interval [ICI] food, lighting the houselight during delays, and prefeeding). Separable aspects of the forgetting functions (initial discriminability and rate of forgetting) were examined by determining accuracy at each delay. During baseline, response rates were higher in the rich component relative to the lean. Accuracy decreased as delay increased in both rich and lean components, and accuracy was consistently higher in the rich relative to the lean component. During disruptive conditions, extinction, ICI food, and prefeeding disrupted response rates, but lighting the houselight during the delays had little effect. During the DMTS portion of the procedure, extinction and prefeeding decreased initial discriminability and lighting the houselight during the delay increased rate of forgetting. Intercomponent food had little effect on accuracy. Accuracy in the rich component was more resistant to disruption relative to the lean component during extinction. These results indicate that certain disruptors do not have the same disruptive effect across response rates and accuracy (e.g., ICI food). These data also suggest that when systematic differences in accuracy between rich and lean components are revealed, performance in the rich component tends to be more resistant to disruption.
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"Spatial Pavlovian Conditioning." Master's thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.14452.
Full textAbstract:
abstract: Three experiments used a spatial serial conditioning paradigm to assess the effectiveness of spatially informative conditioned stimuli in eliciting tracking behavior in pigeons. The experimental paradigm consisted of the simultaneous presentation of 2 key lights (CS2 and CTRL), followed by another key light (CS1), followed by food (the unconditioned stimulus or US). CS2 and CTRL were presented in 2 of 3 possible locations, randomly assigned; CS1 was always presented in the same location as CS2. CS2 was designed to signal the spatial, but not the temporal locus of CS1; CS1 signaled the temporal locus of the US. In Experiment 1, differential pecking on CS2 was observed even when CS2 was present throughout the interval between CS1s, but only in a minority of pigeons. A control condition verified that pecking on CS2 was not due to temporal proximity between CS2 and US. Experiment 2 demonstrated the reversibility of spatial conditioning between CS2 and CTRL. Asymptotic performance never involved tracking CTRL more than CS2 for any of 16 pigeons. It is inferred that pigeons learned the spatial association between CS2 and CS1, and that temporal contingency facilitated its expression as tracking behavior. In a third experiment, with pigeons responding to a touchscreen monitor, differential responding to CS2 was observed only when CS2 disambiguated the location of a random CS1. When the presentation location of CS1 was held constant, no differences in responding to CS2 or CTRL were observed.<br>Dissertation/Thesis<br>M.A. Psychology 2011
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Chu, Chiem Ming, and 朱建明. "The Study of Pigeon Fancier’s Racing Behavior." Thesis, 2004. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/36126838928439886133.
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碩士<br>國立屏東科技大學<br>畜產系<br>93<br>The aims of this study were to investigate the characteristics of pigeon breeder, activities, feed pigeon, technique and affairs of racing pigeon association. This study could contribute the development of racing pigeon research in Taiwan. This survey employed the interview and internet to investigate the relation between pigeon fancier’s background, racing activity, pigeon breeding, raising skill and affairs in pigeon association to take for basic data of pigeon racing research. The result showed that the majority of participants were male and aged between 36 to 45. Most of participants were farmer or laborer. The major educational level of participants was senior high school. The largest group was that of participants who was member of association. Moreover, the participance of competition for racing pigeons was effected by the different occupation, educational level, experience of feed pigeon and area of competition.
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Ware, Emma. "Interactive behaviour in pigeons: Visual display interactions as a model for visual communication." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1974/6396.
Full textAbstract:
Four experiments are presented that explore social interactivity in a visually communicating species: the pigeon, Columba livia. A closed-loop teleprompter system was used to isolate, control and manipulate social contingency in a natural courtship interaction. Experiment 1 tested different ways to measure pigeon behaviour and developed an automatic method for measuring the pigeon’s circle walking display using motion energy analysis. In Experiment, 2 the subject’s courtship behaviour towards the video image of an opposite sex partner streamed live (Live), was compared with their behaviour towards a pre-recorded video image of the same partner (Playback). The only difference between the Live and Playback condition was the presence or absence of social contingency. The results showed that pigeons behaved interactively: their behaviour was determined, in part, by the social contingencies between visual signals. To investigate what types of social contingencies are behaviourally relevant, the effects of the partner’s facing direction and the timing of social contingencies on behaviour were investigated in Experiment 3 and 4, respectively. To manipulate partner facing direction, the camera was rotated so that the partner appears to be courting 90° away from the subject. To manipulate social timing, three time delays, 1, 3 and 9s, were implemented within the closed-circuit communication. In Experiment 4, the context-specificity of interactive behaviour was also investigated by testing behavioural sensitivity to social contingency and timing in both opposite sex and same sex social interactions. The results showed that the partner’s facing direction did not significantly influence behaviour, whereas the timing of social contingencies had a significant impact on behaviour: in courtship only. These findings suggest that temporal relations between display bouts in courtship are behaviourally relevant. A post hoc analysis was then used to evaluate the behavioural relevance of two social contingencies in particular: partner responsiveness and simultaneous display. The results showed that females may be sensitive to the male responsiveness in courtship. Also, simultaneous display appeared to create a perceptual interaction which acted to potentiate the courtship dynamic. These studies provide a basis for further developing the pigeon and its courtship behaviour as a model for visual communication.<br>Thesis (Ph.D, Neuroscience Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-04-25 14:37:19.888
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Thibodeau, Cristina Joy dos Santos. "The effect of reinforcement and time on choice." Doctoral thesis, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/29736.
Full textAbstract:
In natural environments, most animals survive because they learn
to respond appropriately to cues that signal the availability of food,
a mate, or a predator. Sometimes there is more than one cue
signaling the same outcome, and oftentimes these cues can
change and become less reliable. In the laboratory, discrimination
reversal tasks are good tests of behavioral adaptability to regularly
changing environments. In this series of studies, we explore the
determinants and the dynamics of behavior when time and the
outcome of the previous response simultaneously signal the
availability of a potential reinforcer. Hence, we analyzed the
performance of rats and pigeons in different versions of the
midsession reversal task. The traditional task consists of a simple
simultaneous discrimination where responses to one stimulus are
reinforced and responses to the other stimulus are not and, once
throughout the session, contingencies reverse and the previously
reinforced stimulus is now extinguished and vice versa. We used
this task because it allows the independent manipulation of time
and response outcomes as cues for future reinforcement: We
manipulated the reliability of the outcomes by providing either
continuous or partial reinforcement for each response alternative
and manipulated the reliability of time by fixing the moment of
reversal or making it unpredictable. Results suggest that
behavioral control alternates between outcomes and time
according to the relative reliability of each cue. Simple
mathematical model simulations show that outcomes and time
may jointly determine behavior, and that momentary
reinforcement rate may determine their relative influence. We offer
a general account of how animals may adapt to regularly
changing environments.<br>Em seu ambiente natural, a maioria dos animais consegue sobreviver porque
aprende a responder de maneira adequada a dicas que sinalizam a
disponibilidade de comida, a possibilidade de acasalamento ou a presença de
predadores. Às vezes, mais de uma dica sinaliza a mesma consequência e,
frequentemente, essas dicas podem mudar e se tornar menos confiáveis. No
laboratório, tarefas de inversão de discriminação são bons testes da
adaptabilidade comportamental a ambientes que mudam regularmente. Nesta
série de estudos, exploramos os determinantes e as dinâmicas do
comportamento quando tempo e a consequência da resposta indicam
simultaneamente a disponibilidade de um reforçador em potencial. Assim,
analisamos o desempenho de ratos e pombos em diferentes versões da tarefa
de inversão ao meio da sessão (midsession reversal task). A tarefa tradicional
consiste em uma discriminação simples simultânea em que respostas a um
estímulo são reforçadas e respostas ao outro estímulo não são e, uma vez
durante a sessão, as contingências são invertidas e o estímulo que sinalizava
reforço agora sinaliza extinção e vice-versa. Utilizamos essa tarefa porque
permite a manipulação independente do tempo e das consequências das
respostas como dicas para o reforçamento futuro: Manipulamos a
confiabilidade das consequências ao disponibilizar reforçamento contínuo ou
parcial para cada alternativa e manipulamos a confiabilidade do tempo
mantendo o momento de inversão fixo ou imprevisível. Os resultados sugerem
que o controle comportamental varia entre as consequências e o tempo, de
acordo com a relativa confiabilidade de cada dica. Simulações simples de
modelos matemáticos mostram que as consequências e o tempo podem
determinar o comportamento em conjunto, e que a taxa local de reforço pode
determinar sua influência relativa. Oferecemos uma descrição geral de como
animais se adaptam a ambientes que mudam regulamente.<br>Programa Doutoral em Psicologia