Associative models fail to characterize transitive inference performance in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

ABSTRACT: It has been suggested that non-verbal transitive inference (if A > B and B > C, then A > C) can be accounted for by associative models. However, little is known about the applicability of such models to primate data. In Experiment 1, we tested the fit of two associative models to primate data from both sequential training, in which the training pairs were presented in a backward order, and simultaneous training, in which all training pairs are presented intermixed from the beginning. We found that the models provided an equally poor fit for both sequential and simultaneous training presentations, contrary to the case with data from pigeons. The models were also unable to predict the robust symbolic distance effects characteristic of primate transitive choices. In Experiment 2, we used the

SUBMITTER: Lazareva OF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7853493 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature