Pigeons presented with sequences of light flashes use behavior to count but not to time.
On randomly ordered trials, pigeons were presented with either a blue or a white key that flashed red for 200 ms at a fast (2 flashes/s), medium (1 flash/s), or slow (0.5 flashes/s) rate. The blue key signaled a fixed-interval (FI) schedule in which the first response after 20 s was reinforced, and the white key signaled a fixed-number (FN) schedule in which the first response after 20 flashes was reinforced. In Experiments 1 and 2, pigeons showed depressed responding to the flash on FI-cued trials and accelerated responding to the flash on FN-cued trials. When the response key was periodically blacked out in Experiments 3 and 4, counting but not timing was eliminated.
Roberts
William A
WA
University of Western Ontario, Department of Psychology, London, Ontario, Canada. roberts@uwo.ca
Roberts
Shelley
S
Kit
Karen A
KA
D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D001288:Attention; D003118:Color Perception; D010856:Columbidae; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011340:Problem Solving; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D013998:Time Perception