title: Geometric modules in animals' spatial representations: a test with chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus).
abstract: Recent work has shown that in place-finding tasks rats rely on the geometric relations between the goal object and the shape of the environment. We tested young chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) on similar tasks in a reference memory paradigm to determine whether differences exist between species in the ability to use geometric and nongeometric spatial information. The main findings were that chicks: (a) encoded and used both geometric and nongeometric (featural) information; (b) did not use the overall spatial arrangement of the features; (c) relied primarily on nongeometric cues when faced with contradictory information. Two mechanisms are evident in chicks' spatial representations: a metric frame for encoding the spatial arrangement of surfaces as surfaces and a cue-guidance system for encoding conspicuous landmarks near the target. The possibility of hierarchical organization and species differences in these two mechanisms are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vallortigara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zanforlin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pasti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D002645:Chickens; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception; D009949:Orientation; D011340:Problem Solving; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012931:Social Environment; D013028:Space Perception