Paul Brandon wrote:
On Apr 21, 2009, at 2:40 PM, Ken Steele wrote:
msylves...@copper.net wrote:
Are pigeons preferred in demonstrating conditioning principles than rats
or vice versa?
It depends on the phenomenon under investigation. One advantage
of pigeons is that they are very long-lived. You can run a
variety of parametric manipulations for years without worrying
that your subjects may die of old age. They also produce a wider
range of response rates--which makes it easier to demonstrate
differences.
Actually, this is a manipulanda artifact.
I've used pigeon response keys with rats, and gotten rates over 5
responses per second.
Paul's point is important. There is an issue when you try to
compare performance across species. Species differences are
confounded with apparatus differences in many instances.
I have had a few rats that have produced very high response
rates. In one case, the rat was grabbing the bar with its teeth
and shaking the bar like it had caught a prey.
On the other hand, about all pigeons can do easily is peck at
objects. Rats can press levers, turn wheels, jump, swim, run in
wheels, run through mazes, pull on strings, etc.
Paul Brandon
Emeritus Professor of Psychology
Minnesota State University, Mankato
paul.bran...@mnsu.edu
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Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. steel...@appstate.edu
Professor
Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
USA
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