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- Title
Does Joystick Training Facilitate Relational Learning?
- Authors
Whitham, Will; Johnson, Jennifer M.; French, Kristin; Beran, Michael J.; Washburn, David A.
- Abstract
Thirteen naïve capuchin monkeys (Cebus [Sapajus] apella) were manually tested with the transfer index (TI) procedure, a species-fair paradigm for assessing the capacity to learn and transfer learning. The animals were then trained to manipulate a joystick to control a cursor and to respond to stimuli on a computer screen. After the animals had mastered the remote cause-and-effect relations required by the computerized test system, they were returned to manual TI testing to determine whether the joystick-training intervention had affected the monkeys' capacity for efficient and relational learning. TI scores and overall accuracy were higher following the joystick intervention, but these differences were not statistically significant. Two-choice discrimination learning and reversal appeared to be associative in nature, and there was no evidence that joystick training made the monkeys more rule-like or relational in their learning. Despite the absence of significant differences, the patterns of results encourage further study of the ways that changes in the cognitive competencies of nonhuman animals might be catalyzed by significant learning experiences. "The Language Research Center's Computerized Test System, initially developed for NASA, has proven to be revolutionary. It is used in dozens of laboratories here and abroad. It showed that chimpanzees can master, solely by observation, the skilled use of a joystick and thereby directional control of a cursor's movement on a monitor. Fortuitously, it proved to be an automation of the Wisconsin General Testing Apparatus. More importantly, it has allowed for a complete rewrite of the learning principles and abilities of the rhesus monkey and has enhanced comparative psychological inquiry with a wide variety of species -- including humans." (Rumbaugh, 2013, p. 164).
- Subjects
WISCONSIN; JOYSTICKS; UNITED States. National Aeronautics &; Space Administration; CAPUCHIN monkeys; RHESUS monkeys; LEARNING ability; TEST systems; COGNITIVE training
- Publication
International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 2018, Vol 31, p1
- ISSN
0889-3667
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.46867/ijcp.2018.31.03.07