Matching-To-Sample

39386Consider the table below. Pigeons are trained in a symbolic matching-to-sample task in which many different sample stimuli are mapped to two comparisons: given Red (R) or Yellow (Y), pick (→) Vertical (V); given Green (G) or Blue (B), pick Horizontal (H). Then one group of pigeons is trained with everything reversed: given Red or Yellow, pick Horizontal; given Green or Blue, pick Vertical. The other group is given a partial reversal: given Red or Green, pick Horizontal; given Yellow or Blue, pick Vertical. Given what you know about “common coding” or mediated generalization, which reversal should be learned more easily? Why?

Training

All groups

R→V

Y→V

G→H

B→H

Reversal

R→V

Y→V

G→H

B→H

Whole

R→H

Y→H

G→V

B→V

Partial

R→H

Y→V

G→H

B→V