Same or different? Abstract relational concept use in juvenile bamboo sharks and Malawi cichlids
| Autor: | Vera Schluessel, Theodora Fuss, Leonie John |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Computer science
AcademicSubjects/SCI01320 Object (grammar) bamboo shark 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine spatial arrangement Juvenile 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology Levels-of-processing effect Pseudotropheus zebra relational abstract concept biology Two-alternative forced choice 05 social sciences Sorting AcademicSubjects/SCI01130 Cognition Articles biology.organism_classification Categorization Animal Science and Zoology Malawi cichlid visual concept learning 030217 neurology & neurosurgery Cognitive psychology |
| Zdroj: | Current Zoology |
| ISSN: | 1674-5507 |
| Popis: | Sorting objects and events into categories and concepts is an important cognitive prerequisite that spares an individual the learning of every object or situation encountered in its daily life. Accordingly, specific items are classified in general groups that allow fast responses to novel situations. The present study assessed whether bamboo sharks Chiloscyllium griseum and Malawi cichlids Pseudotropheus zebra can distinguish sets of stimuli (each stimulus consisting of two abstract, geometric objects) that meet two conceptual preconditions, i.e., (1) “sameness” versus “difference” and (2) a certain spatial arrangement of both objects. In two alternative forced choice experiments, individuals were first trained to choose two different, vertically arranged objects from two different but horizontally arranged ones. Pair discriminations were followed by extensive transfer test experiments. Transfer tests using stimuli consisting of (a) black and gray circles and (b) squares with novel geometric patterns provided conflicting information with respect to the learnt rule “choose two different, vertically arranged objects”, thereby investigating (1) the individuals’ ability to transfer previously gained knowledge to novel stimuli and (2) the abstract relational concept(s) or rule(s) applied to categorize these novel objects. Present results suggest that the level of processing and usage of both abstract concepts differed considerably between bamboo sharks and Malawi cichlids. Bamboo sharks seemed to combine both concepts—although not with equal but hierarchical prominence—pointing to advanced cognitive capabilities. Conversely, Malawi cichlids had difficulties in discriminating between symbols and failed to apply the acquired training knowledge on new sets of geometric and, in particular, gray-level transfer stimuli. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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