Object-Place Learning in Birds

Blaisdell & SchroederObject Perception in the Pigeon

The pigeon sits in the operant box.The box is equipped with…

-a touchscreen-a food hopper

Every few seconds, an object appears on the screen.

To get food from the hopper, all the pigeon has to do is peck the object when it appears.

The faster the pigeon pecks the object, the sooner it will get fed.

Methods

Here are the objects:

Let’s refer to them as objects:A, B, C, and D.

Here is what the screen looks like before an object

appears.

The objects appear in a specific order that repeats.

After the pigeon has played the game with this repeating sequence, we change the order of some of the

objects, locations, or both.

For an example, go through the following slides and see if you notice the sequence. Pay attention to when

the sequence changes!

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

A

C

B

D

Did you notice the sequence change?

Good job!

The normal sequence was (from left to right):

A B

C D

A

B

C

D

We can also change only the location order:

A

C

B

D

The final sequence was switched to:

A C

B D

Or object order:

The normal sequence was (from left to right):

A B

C D

A

C

B

D

The final sequence was switched to:

Location order changed:A

B

C

D

Which change do you think will slow the pigeon downthe most?

A C

B D

Object order changed:

A

C

B

D

Both changed?

Location order changed:A

B

C

D

If, like humans, the pigeon binds object and location information together in perceptual memory,Then Both changed should be least disruptive!

A C

B D

Object order changed:

A

C

B

D

Both changed?

Your contribution will help us achieve our goal:

To find out if birds, such as the pigeon, perceptually bind objects as do humans and other

primates.

This project will advance our knowledge of how birds see the world.

Do birds see the world the same way that we do?

Thanks for your support!To donate, please go to:

Professor Aaron Blaisdell Julia Schroeder, Ph.D. student

Jubilee,star research subject

https://experiment.com/projects/how-do-birds-see-the-world