On Fri, 3 Dec 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> On a related topic, I remember from an industrial psychology class a
> reference to research showing that pigeons were superior at removing flawed
> phamaceuticals from an assembly line than were humans. The company did not
> implement a pigeon quality review team, though, because of image concerns.
> Is there a grain of truth in any of this? I would like to use it as an
> example of discrimination learning if I can verify it.
>
Well, Paul Brandon has nicely disposed of the pigeon as a quality
control inspector question. But if it's an example of discrimination
learning that you're after, there are other possibilities as well.
There's the ever-popular classic "Pigeons in a Pelican" article of
Skinner's in which he relates the incredible story of how he
successfully trained pigeons to guide missiles in WWII (they never
did, sadly).
And there's a newer one which I use in class. Watanabe et al (1995)
trained pigeons to discriminate between paintings by Monet and
Picasso. When they were done, the pigeons were turned into little art
connoisseurs, who generalized to other Impressionists and could even
detect when the Monets were upside down. Not the Picassos, though
(neither can I).
-Stephen
Reference
Watanabe, S., Sakamoto, J., & Wakita, M. (1995). Pigeons'
discrimination of paintings by Monet and Picasso. Journal
of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 63, 165-174.
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
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