Pigeons' spatial memory: III. Effect of distractors on delayed matching of key location.
Spatial memory in pigeons is fragile—extra lights help only if they mark the right spot.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Pigeons pecked three keys in a row. First they saw a sample key light up on the left, center, or right. After a short delay they had to peck the same spot again.
During the wait the birds saw extra lights. Some lights matched the sample place. Others lit the wrong place. The team counted correct pecks to see which lights helped or hurt memory.
What they found
Lights on the correct key boosted accuracy. Lights on the wrong key dragged it down. Other extra lights did almost nothing.
Only spatial cues mattered. If the extra light pointed to the same place the bird should remember, memory got sharper. If it pointed elsewhere, the bird got fooled.
How this fits with other research
Skrtic et al. (1982) set the baseline. They showed accuracy drops when delays grow or more keys are used. The 1983 study adds that what happens during the delay is just as critical.
Northup et al. (1991) flipped the script. They added a non-reinforced distractor key during training and saw accuracy double. Their birds also held the memory for 24 hours. Both papers use the same three-key task, but J et al. turned distractors into a teaching tool instead of a hurdle.
Wilkinson et al. (1998) found another spatial trap. When the sample appeared on a side key, pigeons kept pecking that side even after training. Together these studies warn that location itself can sneak in and steal control from the real task.
Why it matters
When you run matching tasks, watch what flashes between trials. A stray light near the wrong key can erase hard-won gains. If you need tough retention, give a quick spatial reminder right where the answer will appear. Better yet, train with extra keys like J et al. did and turn the distractor into a strength drill.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The effect of distractors on pigeons' delayed matching of key location was investigated. Baseline trials began with a "ready" stimulus (brief operation of the grain feeder). Then one (randomly chosen) key from a three-by-three matrix was lit briefly as the sample. After a short delay (retention interval) the sample key was lit again along with one of the other eight keys. A peck at the key that had served as the sample (correct comparison) produced grain reinforcement, whereas a peck to the other key (incorrect comparison) produced only the intertrial interval. In Experiment 1, a houselight distractor, presented during either the sample, retention interval, or choice phases of the trial, had little if any effect on accuracy of matching key location. In Experiment 2, one of three types of spatial stimuli was interpolated during the retention interval, or the interval was blank as during baseline trials. The three stimuli were: the sample (correct comparison) location for that trial, the incorrect comparison location for that trial, or one of the seven unused locations for that trial. Relative to blank trials, accuracy improved slightly on sample-interpolated trials, decreased slightly on unused location-interpolated trials, and decreased considerably on incorrect comparison-interpolated trials. In Experiment 3, retention intervals were blank or had one of six types of interpolation: the sample, the incorrect comparison, two presentations of the sample, two presentations of the incorrect comparison, the sample followed by the incorrect comparison, or the incorrect comparison followed by the sample.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1983 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1983.40-143