Frank, A. J. & Wasserman, E. A. (2005).
Associative symmetry in the pigeon after successive matching-to-sample training.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 84, 147-
165.
If an organism is explicitly taught an A-->B association, then might it also
spontaneously learn the symmetrical B-->A association? Little evidence attests
to such “associative symmetry” in nonhuman animals. We report for the first
time a clear case of associative symmetry in the pigeon. Experiment 1 used a
successive go/no go matching-to-sample procedure, which showed all of the
training and testing stimuli in one location and that intermixed arbitrary and
identity matching trials. We found symmetrical responding that was as robust
during testing (B-->A) as during training (A-->B). In Experiment 2, we trained
different pigeons using only arbitrary matching trials before symmetry testing.
No symmetrical responding was found. In Experiment 3, we trained other pigeons
with only arbitrary matching trials and then tested for symmetry. When these
pigeons, too, did not exhibit symmetrical responding, we retrained them with
intermixed identity and arbitrary matching trials. Less robust symmetrical
responding was obtained here than in Experiment 1. Collectively, these results
suggest that identity matching may have to be learned concurrently with
arbitrary matching from the outset of training for symmetry to emerge.
Key words: key peck, pigeons, symmetry, stimulus equivalence, successive
matching-to-sample, go/no go reinforcement schedule