Birds adept and solving 'Monty Hall problem' named after game show host
By Charles Q. Choi
Pigeons might do better than humans at game shows, at least on "Let's Make A Deal."
These new findings — involving the pigeons superior ability to solve a perplexing statistical problem — might in turn shed light on why humans are bad at solving certain kinds of problems, scientists added.
The so-called Monty Hall problem is a well-known puzzle named after the original host of the game show "Let's Make A Deal," who presented contestants with three doors, one of which held a prize, the other two only goats. The prize and the goats were placed randomly behind the doors beforehand, and stayed where they were throughout. After the contestant made a guess, Monty Hall would always open one of the remaining doors that he knew did not contain the prize. The player was then always given the option of staying with their initial guess or switching to the other unopened door.
Most people opted to stay with their initial guess, despite the fact that switching actually doubled the chances of winning.
To see why the apparently illogical choice of switching is actually better, one must understand that before the host opened one of the three doors, the contestant did not know the location of the prize, and thus when he or she chose a door, the contestant had a 1-in-3 chance of being right. That does not change even after the host opened a door. If the probability of the first door the contestant chose remained the same, and there were only two doors left, that meant the remaining unopened door must have had a 2-in-3 chance of being right — that is, it had twice the chance of holding the prize.
The fact that people do badly at this problem is true across cultures, including Brazil, China, Sweden and the United States. Indeed, when the Monty Hall problem appeared in the "Ask Marilyn" column in Parade magazine along with an explanation of the solution, the columnist received some 10,000 letters, 92 percent of which disagreed with her solution. This failing holds true even of many statisticians and mathematicians who should know better, including Paul Erdos, perhaps the most prolific mathematician in history.
Pigeons know better
To shed light on why humans often fall short of the best strategy with this kind of problem, scientists investigated pigeons, which often perform quite impressively on tasks requiring them to estimate relative probabilities, in some cases eclipsing human performance. Other animals do not always share the same biases as people, and therefore might help provide explanations for our behavior.
Scientists tested six pigeons with an apparatus with three keys. The keys lit up white to show a prize was available. After the birds pecked a key, one of the keys the bird did not choose deactivated, showing it was a wrong choice, and the other two lit up green. The pigeons were rewarded with bird feed if they made the right choice.
In the experiments, the birds quickly reached the best strategy for the Monty Hall problem — going from switching roughly 36 percent of the time on day one to some 96 percent of the time on day 30.
On the other hand, 12 undergraduate student volunteers failed to adopt the best strategy with a similar apparatus, even after 200 trials of practice each.
Why people don't get it
One possible reason people are worse than pigeons at the Monty Hall problem might be due to how people learn.
Past research with university students found they almost universally believed that staying and switching were equally likely to win, while younger students believed this less. Only in the youngest group tested — a bunch of 8th graders — did a significant although small fraction of students figure out switching was the best strategy. It may be that education leads people to acquire ways of thinking that, while efficient, can interfere with certain kinds of performance.
"During 'education,' which I would take to encompass not just formal education, but also one's general life experience, we acquire heuristics — rules of thumb that, either consciously or unconsciously, allow us to respond to a complex world quickly," said researcher Walter Herbranson, a comparative psychologist at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. "But while these heuristics are fast and generally accurate, they're not correct 100 percent of the time."
The scientists propose the curious difference between pigeon and human behavior might be rooted in the difference between classical and empirical probability. In classical probability, one tries to figure out every possible outcome and make predictions without collecting data. In empirical probability, one makes predictions after tracking outcomes over time.
Pigeons likely use empirical probability to solve the Monty Hall problem and appear to do so quite successfully.
"Different species often find very different solutions to the same problems," Herbranson said. "We humans have ways of tackling probability-based problems that generally work pretty well for us, the Monty Hall dilemma being one notable exception. Pigeons apparently have a different approach, one that just happens to be better suited to the Monty Hall dilemma."
Empirical probability is a slower, less elegant, brute-force method that can be tricked by the kind of random fluctuations seen in real data, Herbranson said, but it doesn't employ any mental rules of thumb that can lead to traps such as the Monty Hall problem. In a similar way, the visual systems we depend on to quickly make sense of the world around us can lead to our susceptibility to visual illusions, he added.
Indeed, the aforementioned mathematician Paul Erdos demonstrated the power of empirical probability nicely as well. According to his biography, Erdos refused to accept the explanations of colleagues for the correct solution, and was eventually convinced only after he was shown a simple computer simulation than ran the problem hundreds of times. In other words, "after Erdos approached the problem like a pigeon, he was able to embrace the right answer," Herbranson said.
Herbranson and his colleague Julia Schroeder detailed their findings in the February issue of the Journal of Comparative Psychology.
Showing posts with label pigeon intelligence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pigeon intelligence. Show all posts
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Pigeons -- the most intelligent of the bird species
Birds of a feather drink together: The three clever pigeons who help each other sup from a water fountain
They obviously have a better class of pigeon Down Under.
Instead of pecking around on the filthy pavements among cigarette butts and chewing gum, they prefer to sip filtered water and go to great lengths for a bath.
The trio pictured in the article, in Brisbane, Queensland, appear to have worked out a clever system of adapting the water fountain built by humans for their own pigeon purposes.
Coo-l: drink: As one pigeon sucks up water (left), another stands on the lever (right) and the third keeps watch
After waiting for the fountain to be free, one bird jumped on the lever and pushed it down to fill up the bowl, while another kept watch and the third splashed in.
When it had drunk its fill and cleaned its feathers, the third pigeon hopped up to the handle and let his friends have a go.
The three birds continued their bathing ritual for ten minutes, entertaining passers-by in Post Office Square, in Brisbane's bustling business district.
Unlike other birds, who take a sip of water and throw back their heads to swallow, pigeons suck up water using their beaks like straws.
Though they aren't very popular in this part of the world and are referred to as rats of the sky, pigeons - even the English ones - are considered among the most intelligent of all the bird species.
They obviously have a better class of pigeon Down Under.
Instead of pecking around on the filthy pavements among cigarette butts and chewing gum, they prefer to sip filtered water and go to great lengths for a bath.
The trio pictured in the article, in Brisbane, Queensland, appear to have worked out a clever system of adapting the water fountain built by humans for their own pigeon purposes.
Coo-l: drink: As one pigeon sucks up water (left), another stands on the lever (right) and the third keeps watch
After waiting for the fountain to be free, one bird jumped on the lever and pushed it down to fill up the bowl, while another kept watch and the third splashed in.
When it had drunk its fill and cleaned its feathers, the third pigeon hopped up to the handle and let his friends have a go.
The three birds continued their bathing ritual for ten minutes, entertaining passers-by in Post Office Square, in Brisbane's bustling business district.
Unlike other birds, who take a sip of water and throw back their heads to swallow, pigeons suck up water using their beaks like straws.
Though they aren't very popular in this part of the world and are referred to as rats of the sky, pigeons - even the English ones - are considered among the most intelligent of all the bird species.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Two Pigeon Spies Are Arrested
Iran arrests two spy pigeons near nuclear facility
by James Exelby
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Pigeons have been flying military missions for at least 850 years. Two spy pigeons have been arrested in the vicinity of the Iranian nuclear facility at Natanz, and handed over to the country's security services, local press reported on Monday.
Iranian paper E'temad-e Melli quoted an informed source as saying that one pigeon carrying a wired rod fixed to its body with the use of invisible threads had been caught near the Mihan Rose Water Company in Kashan, Isfahan province.
He added that the second bird, a black pigeon carrying a blue wired rod fixed to its back by invisible threads, had been caught at the beginning of the month.
The Natanz nuclear plant is alleged to be Iran's central facility for uranium enrichment to be used to build an atomic bomb, although there is some speculation that the site could be a front, while expansion of the centrifuge program goes on elsewhere.
The facility is located some 30km from the town of the same name, which itself is 70km from Kashan.
The use of pigeons in military operations dates back to at least the 12th century, originating in the Middle East.
The first recorded use of messenger pigeons was in 1150 in Baghdad and the great Mongol Genghis Khan made use of them soon after.
In 1860, Paul Reuter, who later founded Reuters press agency, used a fleet of over 45 pigeons to deliver news and stock prices between Brussels and Aachen. The outcome of the Battle of Waterloo was also first delivered by a pigeon to England.
In 1994, a medal awarded to a British pigeon working for British Intelligence during World War II sold for 9,200 pounds ($15,755).
The PDSA Dickin medal, the animal equivalent to the UK's highest military award for bravery, the Victoria Cross, was awarded to Commando the Pigeon, who had flown vital information, the location of German troops, industrial sites and injured British soldiers, out of occupied France in 1942.
Commando received his medal in 1945 for his "conspicuous bravery and devotion" before he was put out to stud.
by James Exelby
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Pigeons have been flying military missions for at least 850 years. Two spy pigeons have been arrested in the vicinity of the Iranian nuclear facility at Natanz, and handed over to the country's security services, local press reported on Monday.
Iranian paper E'temad-e Melli quoted an informed source as saying that one pigeon carrying a wired rod fixed to its body with the use of invisible threads had been caught near the Mihan Rose Water Company in Kashan, Isfahan province.
He added that the second bird, a black pigeon carrying a blue wired rod fixed to its back by invisible threads, had been caught at the beginning of the month.
The Natanz nuclear plant is alleged to be Iran's central facility for uranium enrichment to be used to build an atomic bomb, although there is some speculation that the site could be a front, while expansion of the centrifuge program goes on elsewhere.
The facility is located some 30km from the town of the same name, which itself is 70km from Kashan.
The use of pigeons in military operations dates back to at least the 12th century, originating in the Middle East.
The first recorded use of messenger pigeons was in 1150 in Baghdad and the great Mongol Genghis Khan made use of them soon after.
In 1860, Paul Reuter, who later founded Reuters press agency, used a fleet of over 45 pigeons to deliver news and stock prices between Brussels and Aachen. The outcome of the Battle of Waterloo was also first delivered by a pigeon to England.
In 1994, a medal awarded to a British pigeon working for British Intelligence during World War II sold for 9,200 pounds ($15,755).
The PDSA Dickin medal, the animal equivalent to the UK's highest military award for bravery, the Victoria Cross, was awarded to Commando the Pigeon, who had flown vital information, the location of German troops, industrial sites and injured British soldiers, out of occupied France in 1942.
Commando received his medal in 1945 for his "conspicuous bravery and devotion" before he was put out to stud.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Pigeons Deserve Respect
Pigeons deserve respect: Animals in the News
Posted by Donna J. Miller/Plain Dealer Reporter October 17, 2008
Ever cursed a pigeon? Called the urban dwellers dirty and dumb? Shooed them away like dandruff on a lapel?
Maybe Mr. Pigeon will change your view.
He lived in a cage, in a house full of cats, with an elderly lady who died last year. Cleveland Animal Protective League humane officers took the cats, but wondered what to do with the caged bird. Winter was approaching. The pigeon was accustomed to indoor temperatures.
They called me, knowing I care for rescued chickens and other farm animals.
Mr. Pigeon moved into my semi-finished basement. He didn't seem to mind the cage, but I hated it. I let him loose in one room, where he flew about and perched on shelves and a ceiling fan.
Occasionally, a cat sneaked in. I panicked, but Mr. Pigeon strode up to full-grown felines without fear. He got beak to nose. He pulled tails. He scurried between their legs and pinched their bellies, sending them fleeing.
I stopped worrying about keeping him from cats and enjoyed the winter months watching him rule the room.
In spring, I let him go.
He wouldn't leave.
He soared from tree to tree to the garage roof. Ate cracked corn with ducks and geese. Slept on the door opener mounted to the ceiling of the garage. Hopped down steps and pushed through a cat door to nap in the cool basement on hot days. Ate face-to-face with cats, whom he could read.
He swooped away from Louie and Taxi, who would do him harm. He went for walks in the woods with Thomas. He wrestled with Bruno. Yes, wrestled. I wished I had a video camera.
When I got home from work, Mr. Pigeon would swoop into the garage and land on my car, cooing. One day, he didn't.
I scanned the trees. There sat a bird-eating Cooper's hawk.
But maybe Mr. Pigeon's story can bring better treatment to the birds of Cleveland this winter, where they struggle to survive, not among natural predators, but among people and cars.
Posted by Donna J. Miller/Plain Dealer Reporter October 17, 2008
Ever cursed a pigeon? Called the urban dwellers dirty and dumb? Shooed them away like dandruff on a lapel?
Maybe Mr. Pigeon will change your view.
He lived in a cage, in a house full of cats, with an elderly lady who died last year. Cleveland Animal Protective League humane officers took the cats, but wondered what to do with the caged bird. Winter was approaching. The pigeon was accustomed to indoor temperatures.
They called me, knowing I care for rescued chickens and other farm animals.
Mr. Pigeon moved into my semi-finished basement. He didn't seem to mind the cage, but I hated it. I let him loose in one room, where he flew about and perched on shelves and a ceiling fan.
Occasionally, a cat sneaked in. I panicked, but Mr. Pigeon strode up to full-grown felines without fear. He got beak to nose. He pulled tails. He scurried between their legs and pinched their bellies, sending them fleeing.
I stopped worrying about keeping him from cats and enjoyed the winter months watching him rule the room.
In spring, I let him go.
He wouldn't leave.
He soared from tree to tree to the garage roof. Ate cracked corn with ducks and geese. Slept on the door opener mounted to the ceiling of the garage. Hopped down steps and pushed through a cat door to nap in the cool basement on hot days. Ate face-to-face with cats, whom he could read.
He swooped away from Louie and Taxi, who would do him harm. He went for walks in the woods with Thomas. He wrestled with Bruno. Yes, wrestled. I wished I had a video camera.
When I got home from work, Mr. Pigeon would swoop into the garage and land on my car, cooing. One day, he didn't.
I scanned the trees. There sat a bird-eating Cooper's hawk.
But maybe Mr. Pigeon's story can bring better treatment to the birds of Cleveland this winter, where they struggle to survive, not among natural predators, but among people and cars.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Pigeon Intelligence
Bird's-eye view of big pictures
Chris Fulton | October 02, 2008
ART critics beware: when it comes to appraising the works of Monet and Picasso, the humble pigeon can give you a run for your aesthetic money.
The surprising discovery by Japanese neuropsychologist Shigeru Watanabe at Keio University adds to earlier research revealing that the multi-talented birds can also hear the difference between Bach and Stravinsky.
Watanabe put the pigeons to the artist challenge as part of his study on how pigeons think and process information. He says the work may provide important clues to the mystery of how humans see and interpret art.
According to Watanabe, who reported his findings in the journal Animal Cognition, birds, like humans, rely on their eyesight to find food, make a home and avoid their predators. Such selective pressures give pigeons and humans a heightened visual ability, which by chance enables both species to appreciate the subtle nuances of artistic style.
"These observations suggest the visual functions of pigeons are comparable (with those of) humans," Watanabe says.
Commenting on the research, visual neuroethologist Jochen Zeil, from the Australian National University, says the findings are no laughing matter. "I'm not surprised that they found pigeons could distinguish the fine details of paintings," he says.
Zeil notes that people often underestimate how well other animals can see. "This research gives us a better appreciation of how amazing animals other than ourselves are in terms of their visual abilities," he says.
In order to tease out the critical faculties of pigeons, Watanabe and his colleagues first showed a pigeon 10 paintings by Monet. Then they asked the same pigeon to identify -- peck out -- a different work by the same artist from a mixture of paintings by Monet, Renoir, Matisse and Delacroix. The pigeons were able to do this for a range of other artists as well, including Picasso, Van Gogh and Chagall.
After testing 21-year-old psychology students with the same paintings, Watanabe found that pigeons and humans were on a par with their artistic detective work.
Even when the paintings were converted to black and white, both the pigeons and the students could still identify the artist correctly. And when other aspects of the images were changed, such as blurring of the finer brushstroke details, both groups got the answer wrong.
According to Watanabe, the results suggest that pigeons and people assess multiple characteristics of an object when making a judgment, such as the particular combination of colour and pattern.
Chris Fulton | October 02, 2008
ART critics beware: when it comes to appraising the works of Monet and Picasso, the humble pigeon can give you a run for your aesthetic money.
The surprising discovery by Japanese neuropsychologist Shigeru Watanabe at Keio University adds to earlier research revealing that the multi-talented birds can also hear the difference between Bach and Stravinsky.
Watanabe put the pigeons to the artist challenge as part of his study on how pigeons think and process information. He says the work may provide important clues to the mystery of how humans see and interpret art.
According to Watanabe, who reported his findings in the journal Animal Cognition, birds, like humans, rely on their eyesight to find food, make a home and avoid their predators. Such selective pressures give pigeons and humans a heightened visual ability, which by chance enables both species to appreciate the subtle nuances of artistic style.
"These observations suggest the visual functions of pigeons are comparable (with those of) humans," Watanabe says.
Commenting on the research, visual neuroethologist Jochen Zeil, from the Australian National University, says the findings are no laughing matter. "I'm not surprised that they found pigeons could distinguish the fine details of paintings," he says.
Zeil notes that people often underestimate how well other animals can see. "This research gives us a better appreciation of how amazing animals other than ourselves are in terms of their visual abilities," he says.
In order to tease out the critical faculties of pigeons, Watanabe and his colleagues first showed a pigeon 10 paintings by Monet. Then they asked the same pigeon to identify -- peck out -- a different work by the same artist from a mixture of paintings by Monet, Renoir, Matisse and Delacroix. The pigeons were able to do this for a range of other artists as well, including Picasso, Van Gogh and Chagall.
After testing 21-year-old psychology students with the same paintings, Watanabe found that pigeons and humans were on a par with their artistic detective work.
Even when the paintings were converted to black and white, both the pigeons and the students could still identify the artist correctly. And when other aspects of the images were changed, such as blurring of the finer brushstroke details, both groups got the answer wrong.
According to Watanabe, the results suggest that pigeons and people assess multiple characteristics of an object when making a judgment, such as the particular combination of colour and pattern.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Pigeons Show Superior Self-recognition Abilities to Three Year Old Humans
Pigeons Show Superior Self-recognition Abilities To Three Year Old Humans
see article in Science Daily
Keio University scientists have shown that pigeons are able to discriminate video images of themselves even with a 5-7 second delay, thus having self-cognitive abilities higher than 3-year-old children who have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay. (Credit: Image courtesy of Keio University)ScienceDaily (June 14, 2008) — Keio University scientists have shown that pigeons are able to discriminate video images of themselves even with a 5-7 second delay, thus having self-cognitive abilities higher than 3-year-old children who have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay.
Prof. Shigeru Watanabe of the Graduate School of Human Relations of Keio University and Tsukuba University graduate student Kohji Toda trained pigeons to discriminate real-time self-image using mirrors as well as videotaped self-image, and proved that pigeons can recognize video images that reflect their movements as self-image.
Self-recognition is found in large primates such as chimpanzees, and recent findings show that dolphins and elephants also have such intelligence. Proving that pigeons also have this ability show that such high intelligence as self-recognition can be seen in various animals, and are not limited to primates and dolphins that have large brains.
Experimental method and results
The pigeon was trained to discriminate two types of video images in the following method. First, live video images of the present self (A) and recorded video images of the pigeon that moves differently from the present self (B) are shown. When the pigeon learns to discriminate these two images, the video image of (A) is shown with a temporal delay, so that the monitor shows the image of the pigeon a few seconds before. If the pigeon remembers its own movements, it can recognize it as self-image even with the delay.
The pigeon could discriminate (A) with a few seconds delay as something different from (B). This shows that the pigeon can differentiate the present self-image and the recorded self-image of the past, which means that the pigeon has self-cognitive abilities. Video image (A) matches with the movement of itself, whereas (B) does not. Being able to discriminate the two means that the pigeon understands the difference between movements of itself and movements of the taped image. In this experiment, movements of the pigeon itself are in question instead of the mark of Gallup’s mark test (see 2-(1) below for explanation). When there is a temporal delay in the image of the present self, the longer the delay, the more pigeon’s discrimination was disrupted, and this also shows that the pigeon discriminates the video images using its own movements. The important thing is whether it understands the difference between movements in the video image that match with itself and movements in the video image that don’t.
Method of testing self recognition on animals
(1) Gallup’s mirror test (self-recognition test)
The self-recognition test on animals using mirrors was developed by psychology Prof. Gordon Gallup Jr. at the State University of New York, Albany. His papers released in 1970 in the “Science” magazine explaining that chimpanzees have abilities for self-recognition attracted attention. This test is known as the first to test self-recognition on animals. He anesthetized chimpanzees and then marked their faces. When the chimpanzees were awakened, they were confronted with a mirror and they touched the corresponding marked region of their own faces. Most tests of self-recognition are a variation of the Gallup test, and are used to assess self-recognition in a wide variety of species. It is also called the mark test, or the rouge test.
(2) Assessment of self-recognition on pigeons
Self-recognition can be assessed with cross-modality matching. A typical example of cross-modality matching is waving your hand when you see yourself in a video image. With a mirror image or video image of oneself, when information of the propriocepter (how the arms and legs of oneself are moving) and visual information of oneself correlate, this can be considered self-recognition. The Gallup’s mark test is based on the precondition that the subject can touch itself. Unless the subject touches itself, it cannot be proved that it has abilities for self-recognition. However, the test conducted on pigeons is more advanced, as it is based on how the pigeons move, and by memorizing the shown images, pigeons proved that they have self-cognitive abilities.
Self-cognitive abilities tested in pigeons are higher than that of 3-year olds
Through various experiments, it is known that pigeons have great visual cognitive abilities. For example, a research at Harvard University proved that pigeons could discriminate people photographs from others. At Prof. Shigeru Watanabe’s laboratory, pigeons could discriminate paintings of a certain painter (such as Van Gogh) from another painter (such as Chagall).
Furthermore, pigeons could discriminate other pigeons individually, and also discriminate stimulated pigeons that were given stimulant drugs from none. In this experiment, pigeons could discriminate video images that reflect their movements even with a 5-7 second delay from video images that don’t reflect their movements. This ability is higher than an average 3-year-olds of humans. According to a research by Prof. Hiraki of the University of Tokyo, 3-year-olds have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay.
see article in Science Daily
Keio University scientists have shown that pigeons are able to discriminate video images of themselves even with a 5-7 second delay, thus having self-cognitive abilities higher than 3-year-old children who have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay. (Credit: Image courtesy of Keio University)ScienceDaily (June 14, 2008) — Keio University scientists have shown that pigeons are able to discriminate video images of themselves even with a 5-7 second delay, thus having self-cognitive abilities higher than 3-year-old children who have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay.
Prof. Shigeru Watanabe of the Graduate School of Human Relations of Keio University and Tsukuba University graduate student Kohji Toda trained pigeons to discriminate real-time self-image using mirrors as well as videotaped self-image, and proved that pigeons can recognize video images that reflect their movements as self-image.
Self-recognition is found in large primates such as chimpanzees, and recent findings show that dolphins and elephants also have such intelligence. Proving that pigeons also have this ability show that such high intelligence as self-recognition can be seen in various animals, and are not limited to primates and dolphins that have large brains.
Experimental method and results
The pigeon was trained to discriminate two types of video images in the following method. First, live video images of the present self (A) and recorded video images of the pigeon that moves differently from the present self (B) are shown. When the pigeon learns to discriminate these two images, the video image of (A) is shown with a temporal delay, so that the monitor shows the image of the pigeon a few seconds before. If the pigeon remembers its own movements, it can recognize it as self-image even with the delay.
The pigeon could discriminate (A) with a few seconds delay as something different from (B). This shows that the pigeon can differentiate the present self-image and the recorded self-image of the past, which means that the pigeon has self-cognitive abilities. Video image (A) matches with the movement of itself, whereas (B) does not. Being able to discriminate the two means that the pigeon understands the difference between movements of itself and movements of the taped image. In this experiment, movements of the pigeon itself are in question instead of the mark of Gallup’s mark test (see 2-(1) below for explanation). When there is a temporal delay in the image of the present self, the longer the delay, the more pigeon’s discrimination was disrupted, and this also shows that the pigeon discriminates the video images using its own movements. The important thing is whether it understands the difference between movements in the video image that match with itself and movements in the video image that don’t.
Method of testing self recognition on animals
(1) Gallup’s mirror test (self-recognition test)
The self-recognition test on animals using mirrors was developed by psychology Prof. Gordon Gallup Jr. at the State University of New York, Albany. His papers released in 1970 in the “Science” magazine explaining that chimpanzees have abilities for self-recognition attracted attention. This test is known as the first to test self-recognition on animals. He anesthetized chimpanzees and then marked their faces. When the chimpanzees were awakened, they were confronted with a mirror and they touched the corresponding marked region of their own faces. Most tests of self-recognition are a variation of the Gallup test, and are used to assess self-recognition in a wide variety of species. It is also called the mark test, or the rouge test.
(2) Assessment of self-recognition on pigeons
Self-recognition can be assessed with cross-modality matching. A typical example of cross-modality matching is waving your hand when you see yourself in a video image. With a mirror image or video image of oneself, when information of the propriocepter (how the arms and legs of oneself are moving) and visual information of oneself correlate, this can be considered self-recognition. The Gallup’s mark test is based on the precondition that the subject can touch itself. Unless the subject touches itself, it cannot be proved that it has abilities for self-recognition. However, the test conducted on pigeons is more advanced, as it is based on how the pigeons move, and by memorizing the shown images, pigeons proved that they have self-cognitive abilities.
Self-cognitive abilities tested in pigeons are higher than that of 3-year olds
Through various experiments, it is known that pigeons have great visual cognitive abilities. For example, a research at Harvard University proved that pigeons could discriminate people photographs from others. At Prof. Shigeru Watanabe’s laboratory, pigeons could discriminate paintings of a certain painter (such as Van Gogh) from another painter (such as Chagall).
Furthermore, pigeons could discriminate other pigeons individually, and also discriminate stimulated pigeons that were given stimulant drugs from none. In this experiment, pigeons could discriminate video images that reflect their movements even with a 5-7 second delay from video images that don’t reflect their movements. This ability is higher than an average 3-year-olds of humans. According to a research by Prof. Hiraki of the University of Tokyo, 3-year-olds have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Pigeons Show Superior Self-recognition Abilities
Pigeons Show Superior Self-recognition Abilities To Three Year Old Humans
Source: Science Daily
Keio University scientists have shown that pigeons are able to discriminate video images of themselves even with a 5-7 second delay, thus having self-cognitive abilities higher than 3-year-old children who have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay.
Keio University scientists have shown that pigeons are able to discriminate video images of themselves even with a 5-7 second delay, thus having self-cognitive abilities higher than 3-year-old children who have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay.
Prof. Shigeru Watanabe of the Graduate School of Human Relations of Keio University and Tsukuba University graduate student Kohji Toda trained pigeons to discriminate real-time self-image using mirrors as well as videotaped self-image, and proved that pigeons can recognize video images that reflect their movements as self-image.
Self-recognition is found in large primates such as chimpanzees, and recent findings show that dolphins and elephants also have such intelligence. Proving that pigeons also have this ability show that such high intelligence as self-recognition can be seen in various animals, and are not limited to primates and dolphins that have large brains.
Experimental method and results
The pigeon was trained to discriminate two types of video images in the following method. First, live video images of the present self (A) and recorded video images of the pigeon that moves differently from the present self (B) are shown. When the pigeon learns to discriminate these two images, the video image of (A) is shown with a temporal delay, so that the monitor shows the image of the pigeon a few seconds before. If the pigeon remembers its own movements, it can recognize it as self-image even with the delay.
The pigeon could discriminate (A) with a few seconds delay as something different from (B). This shows that the pigeon can differentiate the present self-image and the recorded self-image of the past, which means that the pigeon has self-cognitive abilities. Video image (A) matches with the movement of itself, whereas (B) does not. Being able to discriminate the two means that the pigeon understands the difference between movements of itself and movements of the taped image. In this experiment, movements of the pigeon itself are in question instead of the mark of Gallup’s mark test (see 2-(1) below for explanation). When there is a temporal delay in the image of the present self, the longer the delay, the more pigeon’s discrimination was disrupted, and this also shows that the pigeon discriminates the video images using its own movements. The important thing is whether it understands the difference between movements in the video image that match with itself and movements in the video image that don’t.
Method of testing self recognition on animals
(1) Gallup’s mirror test (self-recognition test)
The self-recognition test on animals using mirrors was developed by psychology Prof. Gordon Gallup Jr. at the State University of New York, Albany. His papers released in 1970 in the “Science” magazine explaining that chimpanzees have abilities for self-recognition attracted attention. This test is known as the first to test self-recognition on animals. He anesthetized chimpanzees and then marked their faces. When the chimpanzees were awakened, they were confronted with a mirror and they touched the corresponding marked region of their own faces. Most tests of self-recognition are a variation of the Gallup test, and are used to assess self-recognition in a wide variety of species. It is also called the mark test, or the rouge test.
(2) Assessment of self-recognition on pigeons
Self-recognition can be assessed with cross-modality matching. A typical example of cross-modality matching is waving your hand when you see yourself in a video image. With a mirror image or video image of oneself, when information of the propriocepter (how the arms and legs of oneself are moving) and visual information of oneself correlate, this can be considered self-recognition. The Gallup’s mark test is based on the precondition that the subject can touch itself. Unless the subject touches itself, it cannot be proved that it has abilities for self-recognition. However, the test conducted on pigeons is more advanced, as it is based on how the pigeons move, and by memorizing the shown images, pigeons proved that they have self-cognitive abilities.
Self-cognitive abilities tested in pigeons are higher than that of 3-year olds
Through various experiments, it is known that pigeons have great visual cognitive abilities. For example, a research at Harvard University proved that pigeons could discriminate people photographs from others. At Prof. Shigeru Watanabe’s laboratory, pigeons could discriminate paintings of a certain painter (such as Van Gogh) from another painter (such as Chagall).
Furthermore, pigeons could discriminate other pigeons individually, and also discriminate stimulated pigeons that were given stimulant drugs from none. In this experiment, pigeons could discriminate video images that reflect their movements even with a 5-7 second delay from video images that don’t reflect their movements. This ability is higher than an average 3-year-olds of humans. According to a research by Prof. Hiraki of the University of Tokyo, 3-year-olds have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Journal reference:
Toda et al. Discrimination of moving video images of self by pigeons (Columba livia). Animal Cognition, 2008 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-008-0161-4
Adapted from materials provided by Keio University.
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats:
APA
MLA
Keio University (2008, June 14). Pigeons Show Superior Self-recognition Abilities To Three Year Old Humans. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 17, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/06/080613145535.htm
Source: Science Daily
Keio University scientists have shown that pigeons are able to discriminate video images of themselves even with a 5-7 second delay, thus having self-cognitive abilities higher than 3-year-old children who have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay.
Keio University scientists have shown that pigeons are able to discriminate video images of themselves even with a 5-7 second delay, thus having self-cognitive abilities higher than 3-year-old children who have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay.
Prof. Shigeru Watanabe of the Graduate School of Human Relations of Keio University and Tsukuba University graduate student Kohji Toda trained pigeons to discriminate real-time self-image using mirrors as well as videotaped self-image, and proved that pigeons can recognize video images that reflect their movements as self-image.
Self-recognition is found in large primates such as chimpanzees, and recent findings show that dolphins and elephants also have such intelligence. Proving that pigeons also have this ability show that such high intelligence as self-recognition can be seen in various animals, and are not limited to primates and dolphins that have large brains.
Experimental method and results
The pigeon was trained to discriminate two types of video images in the following method. First, live video images of the present self (A) and recorded video images of the pigeon that moves differently from the present self (B) are shown. When the pigeon learns to discriminate these two images, the video image of (A) is shown with a temporal delay, so that the monitor shows the image of the pigeon a few seconds before. If the pigeon remembers its own movements, it can recognize it as self-image even with the delay.
The pigeon could discriminate (A) with a few seconds delay as something different from (B). This shows that the pigeon can differentiate the present self-image and the recorded self-image of the past, which means that the pigeon has self-cognitive abilities. Video image (A) matches with the movement of itself, whereas (B) does not. Being able to discriminate the two means that the pigeon understands the difference between movements of itself and movements of the taped image. In this experiment, movements of the pigeon itself are in question instead of the mark of Gallup’s mark test (see 2-(1) below for explanation). When there is a temporal delay in the image of the present self, the longer the delay, the more pigeon’s discrimination was disrupted, and this also shows that the pigeon discriminates the video images using its own movements. The important thing is whether it understands the difference between movements in the video image that match with itself and movements in the video image that don’t.
Method of testing self recognition on animals
(1) Gallup’s mirror test (self-recognition test)
The self-recognition test on animals using mirrors was developed by psychology Prof. Gordon Gallup Jr. at the State University of New York, Albany. His papers released in 1970 in the “Science” magazine explaining that chimpanzees have abilities for self-recognition attracted attention. This test is known as the first to test self-recognition on animals. He anesthetized chimpanzees and then marked their faces. When the chimpanzees were awakened, they were confronted with a mirror and they touched the corresponding marked region of their own faces. Most tests of self-recognition are a variation of the Gallup test, and are used to assess self-recognition in a wide variety of species. It is also called the mark test, or the rouge test.
(2) Assessment of self-recognition on pigeons
Self-recognition can be assessed with cross-modality matching. A typical example of cross-modality matching is waving your hand when you see yourself in a video image. With a mirror image or video image of oneself, when information of the propriocepter (how the arms and legs of oneself are moving) and visual information of oneself correlate, this can be considered self-recognition. The Gallup’s mark test is based on the precondition that the subject can touch itself. Unless the subject touches itself, it cannot be proved that it has abilities for self-recognition. However, the test conducted on pigeons is more advanced, as it is based on how the pigeons move, and by memorizing the shown images, pigeons proved that they have self-cognitive abilities.
Self-cognitive abilities tested in pigeons are higher than that of 3-year olds
Through various experiments, it is known that pigeons have great visual cognitive abilities. For example, a research at Harvard University proved that pigeons could discriminate people photographs from others. At Prof. Shigeru Watanabe’s laboratory, pigeons could discriminate paintings of a certain painter (such as Van Gogh) from another painter (such as Chagall).
Furthermore, pigeons could discriminate other pigeons individually, and also discriminate stimulated pigeons that were given stimulant drugs from none. In this experiment, pigeons could discriminate video images that reflect their movements even with a 5-7 second delay from video images that don’t reflect their movements. This ability is higher than an average 3-year-olds of humans. According to a research by Prof. Hiraki of the University of Tokyo, 3-year-olds have difficulty recognizing their self-image with only a 2 second delay.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Journal reference:
Toda et al. Discrimination of moving video images of self by pigeons (Columba livia). Animal Cognition, 2008 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-008-0161-4
Adapted from materials provided by Keio University.
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats:
APA
MLA
Keio University (2008, June 14). Pigeons Show Superior Self-recognition Abilities To Three Year Old Humans. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 17, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/06/080613145535.htm
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Pigeons Are Smarter Than a Three-Year Old
Pigeons: Smarter than a three-year-old
USA Today
News from Japan that may make parents scramble for their Baby Mozart CDs.
Scientists there have shown pigeons are better at self-recognition than three-year-old children. The birds can also tell a Van Gogh from a Chagall.
Prof. Shigeru Watanabe of Keio University and a grad student found the pigeons were good at identifying their own mug in a video image. The birds could distinguish between video self-images that showed their movements vs. video images that didn't show their movements. That was even with a 5-7 second delay in the video.
The average three-year-old child has trouble recognizing their self-image with just a two-second delay.
We know self-recognition isn't uniquely human. Chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants also have the ability. The pigeon finding suggests an animal doesn't need a large brain to know its own image.
And sorry, kids -- this self-recognition thing? It's for the birds.
By Jess Zielinski
USA Today
News from Japan that may make parents scramble for their Baby Mozart CDs.
Scientists there have shown pigeons are better at self-recognition than three-year-old children. The birds can also tell a Van Gogh from a Chagall.
Prof. Shigeru Watanabe of Keio University and a grad student found the pigeons were good at identifying their own mug in a video image. The birds could distinguish between video self-images that showed their movements vs. video images that didn't show their movements. That was even with a 5-7 second delay in the video.
The average three-year-old child has trouble recognizing their self-image with just a two-second delay.
We know self-recognition isn't uniquely human. Chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants also have the ability. The pigeon finding suggests an animal doesn't need a large brain to know its own image.
And sorry, kids -- this self-recognition thing? It's for the birds.
By Jess Zielinski
Monday, February 25, 2008
Harvard Psychologist Dr. B.F. Skinner, Ph.D. Studies of Pigeon Intelligence
Mankind has been teaching birds to talk for thousands of years. Man has also been using birds to deliver messages for just as long. But new research on the intelligence of birds suggests that they might be more intelligent than we suspect.
Researchers studying pigeons have learned that they can read all of the letters of the alphabet and they read them in a way similar to people. Scientists became convinced that pigeons see the world in much the same way as we do when they discovered that pigeons tend to confuse the very same letters that people do. What's more, it took only four months for pigeons to learn to distinguish all the letters of the alphabet. For years pigeons have been used to spot and reject defective items on assembly lines, where they have better records than human beings.
Scientists recently announced that they have discovered that the human brain is laced with tiny magnetic particles made of magnetite. Magnetite is the same mineral that occurs naturally in lodestones. While the particles are distributed throughout the brain, they seem to be more concentrated in the membrane that encloses the brain. Scientists said that they had not seen the particles before because they are so tiny. The smallest are about a millionth of an inch in diameter while the largest are a hundred-thousandth of an inch in diameter. Added together, all the particles in the average brain amount to only one millionth of an ounce.
The particles are identical to those found in many bacteria, pigeons, salmon and whales. The particles help those creatures navigate using the earth's magnetic field. Scientists are not prepared to say that they serve the same purpose in humans. Instead, they continue to study the particles to learn what purpose they serve.
Based on evolutionary theory, scientists naturally conclude that the recognition of abstract forms such as letters of the alphabet requires the larger brain. But this is an assumption and we might be reminded of the work of Harvard psychologist B. F. Skinner who made extensive use of learned behavior using pigeons. Brain size has little to do with intelligence. Real science and experience show this and disprove evolutionary views. The only alternative is that it is the Creator who gives His creatures their intelligence.
Source
Dr. B.F. Skinner, Ph.D.
American Psychology Association:
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of influential behaviorist B.F. Skinner, the first psychologist to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from APA and a key shaper of the evolution and practice of psychology in the modern world.
"[His work on behaviorism] opened a completely new approach to psychology that nobody had ever heard of," says Charles Brewer, PhD, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Psychology at Furman University. "The work he did with pigeons and rats in the laboratory has been applied more widely in real-world applications than any other psychologist's," he adds.
After receiving an undergraduate degree in literature and trying to make a living as a writer in New York City, Skinner went to Harvard University's psychology department for his graduate studies. He worked closely with the university's new department of physiology because he was more interested in animal behavior than in internal mental processes.
Skinner built on the behaviorist theories of Ivan Pavlov and John Watson as he studied the connection between stimuli and observable behavior in rats, which led to his eponymous Skinner box. With its levers and food pellets, the box allowed precise measurement and control of experimental conditions.
Skinner received his PhD from Harvard University in 1931 and spent several years at the University of Minnesota and the University of Indiana, but he returned to Harvard in 1948, remaining there for the rest of his career. During World War II, Skinner convinced the military to fund his research--the famous Project Pigeon--to train pigeons to guide bombs and torpedoes. Skinner favored pigeons over rats because they live longer and he found them easier to train and handle. He believed the methods could be used to train humans--by presenting new subject matter in a series of graduated steps with feedback at each step. Modern computer-based instructional methods are based on his findings.
According to Michael Wertheimer, PhD, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, "The main spotlight on Skinner's work was during the period from about 1950 to about 1980, but ever since the late 1970s it has shifted to cognitive phenomena and theories." That behavioral analysis like Skinner's has been marginalized in recent years is detrimental to the field, in the view of Donald Dewsbury, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Florida.
Still, the fact remains that B.F. Skinner is a household name, and his theories will always be an important part of psychology, says Brewer. "If you want to know whom students will be reading about in another 100 years, it will be Skinner," he says.
--M. GREENGRASS
PsychNET®
© 2004 American Psychological Association
Researchers studying pigeons have learned that they can read all of the letters of the alphabet and they read them in a way similar to people. Scientists became convinced that pigeons see the world in much the same way as we do when they discovered that pigeons tend to confuse the very same letters that people do. What's more, it took only four months for pigeons to learn to distinguish all the letters of the alphabet. For years pigeons have been used to spot and reject defective items on assembly lines, where they have better records than human beings.
Scientists recently announced that they have discovered that the human brain is laced with tiny magnetic particles made of magnetite. Magnetite is the same mineral that occurs naturally in lodestones. While the particles are distributed throughout the brain, they seem to be more concentrated in the membrane that encloses the brain. Scientists said that they had not seen the particles before because they are so tiny. The smallest are about a millionth of an inch in diameter while the largest are a hundred-thousandth of an inch in diameter. Added together, all the particles in the average brain amount to only one millionth of an ounce.
The particles are identical to those found in many bacteria, pigeons, salmon and whales. The particles help those creatures navigate using the earth's magnetic field. Scientists are not prepared to say that they serve the same purpose in humans. Instead, they continue to study the particles to learn what purpose they serve.
Based on evolutionary theory, scientists naturally conclude that the recognition of abstract forms such as letters of the alphabet requires the larger brain. But this is an assumption and we might be reminded of the work of Harvard psychologist B. F. Skinner who made extensive use of learned behavior using pigeons. Brain size has little to do with intelligence. Real science and experience show this and disprove evolutionary views. The only alternative is that it is the Creator who gives His creatures their intelligence.
Source
Dr. B.F. Skinner, Ph.D.
American Psychology Association:
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of influential behaviorist B.F. Skinner, the first psychologist to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from APA and a key shaper of the evolution and practice of psychology in the modern world.
"[His work on behaviorism] opened a completely new approach to psychology that nobody had ever heard of," says Charles Brewer, PhD, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Psychology at Furman University. "The work he did with pigeons and rats in the laboratory has been applied more widely in real-world applications than any other psychologist's," he adds.
After receiving an undergraduate degree in literature and trying to make a living as a writer in New York City, Skinner went to Harvard University's psychology department for his graduate studies. He worked closely with the university's new department of physiology because he was more interested in animal behavior than in internal mental processes.
Skinner built on the behaviorist theories of Ivan Pavlov and John Watson as he studied the connection between stimuli and observable behavior in rats, which led to his eponymous Skinner box. With its levers and food pellets, the box allowed precise measurement and control of experimental conditions.
Skinner received his PhD from Harvard University in 1931 and spent several years at the University of Minnesota and the University of Indiana, but he returned to Harvard in 1948, remaining there for the rest of his career. During World War II, Skinner convinced the military to fund his research--the famous Project Pigeon--to train pigeons to guide bombs and torpedoes. Skinner favored pigeons over rats because they live longer and he found them easier to train and handle. He believed the methods could be used to train humans--by presenting new subject matter in a series of graduated steps with feedback at each step. Modern computer-based instructional methods are based on his findings.
According to Michael Wertheimer, PhD, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, "The main spotlight on Skinner's work was during the period from about 1950 to about 1980, but ever since the late 1970s it has shifted to cognitive phenomena and theories." That behavioral analysis like Skinner's has been marginalized in recent years is detrimental to the field, in the view of Donald Dewsbury, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Florida.
Still, the fact remains that B.F. Skinner is a household name, and his theories will always be an important part of psychology, says Brewer. "If you want to know whom students will be reading about in another 100 years, it will be Skinner," he says.
--M. GREENGRASS
PsychNET®
© 2004 American Psychological Association
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