Abstract
Four rats were trained to perform two numerical discriminations during the same experimental session. As in a previous study (Davis & Bradford, in press), one of these tasks required the animal to enter a target tunnel solely on the basis of its ordinal position in an array of six tunnels. Of primary interest here is the fact that the subjects were simultaneously required to keep track of the cumulative number of trials during the session: After their first and second tunnel entries, subjects returned to the start box. After their third tunnel entry, subjects climbed onto a wood block in order to exit the enclosure and return to their home cages. These data constitute the first evidence that rats are capable of performing two simultaneous numerical discriminations.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Davis, H., & Bradford, S. (in press). Counting behavior by rats in a simulated natural environment. Ethology.
Davis, H., & Memmott, J. (1982). Counting behavior in animals: A critical evaluation. Psychological Bulletin, 92, 547–571.
Davis, H., & Memmott, J. (1983). Autocontingencies: Rats count to three to predict safety from shock. Animal Learning & Behavior, 11, 95–100.
Davis, H., Memmott, J., & Hurwitz, H. M. B. (1975). Autocontingencies: A model for subtle behavioral control. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 104, 169–188.
Ferster, C. B. (1964). Arithmetic behavior in chimpanzees. Scientific American, 210, 98–106.
Koehler, O. (1950). The ability of birds to “count.” Bulletin of Animal Behavior, 9, 41–45.
Menzel, E. W., & Juno, C. (1982). Marmosets (Saguinus fuscicollis): Are learning sets learned? Science, 217, 750–752.
Zorina, Z. A. (1982). Reasoning ability and adaptivity of behavior in birds. In V. J. A. Novok & J. Mlikovsky (Eds.), Evolution and environment (pp. 907–912). Prague: CSAV.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported in part by Grant A0693 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. These data were reported at the June 1983 meeting of the Animal Behavior Society. The authors are grateful to Rachelle Perusse, Janice Steirn, and Susan Simmons for their insightful criticisms.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Davis, H., Bradford, S.A. Simultaneous numerical discriminations by rats. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 25, 113–116 (1987). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330300
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330300