Mentor
Ed Wasserman
Participation year
2017
Project title

Pigeons’ Tracking of Relevant Information in Category Learning

Abstract

Attention is key for categorization, with the use of selective attention humans and animals can learn to discriminate relevant and irrelevant information. In our present project, we presented pigeons with a visual discrimination task in which they had to learn how to categorize relevant information from the irrelevant. In order to solve the categorization discrimination task, the pigeons must engage in selective attention to find the relevant information.

We presented the pigeons with exemplars composed of four features, one relevant and three irrelevant. The exemplars where divided in two categories, the pigeons had to find the relevant information and categorize each exemplar. The allocation of selective attention in birds is measured by their pecks. This is why, with the use of touch screen technology we gather the data of the pecks and the accuracy of the categorization.

Our results suggested that in order for accuracy to improve, tracking of the relevant feature must also increase. In this on-going investigation, one of our four birds achieved high levels of accuracy and peck tracking, we hope that with more learning, the other pigeons will also achieve the same levels.

Sol Fonseca
Education
University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras