title: Control of choice by the spatial configuration of goals.
abstract: Rats gathered pellets from the tops of 15.5-cm-tall poles. In a matrix of poles, bait was located on the tops of poles arranged in either a square (Experiment 1) or linear (Experiment 2) configuration. The specific locations of baited poles varied unpredictably from trial to trial. The data show that the rats' choices were controlled by the spatial configuration of baited locations. This indicates that the rats represented the geometric pattern formed by the locations of food.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Villanova University, Pennsylvania 19085, USA.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Terrinoni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D002755:Choice Behavior; D006040:Goals; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011340:Problem Solving; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley