THE LEARNING OF GRAMMAR-LIKE RELATIONS BY MONKEYS.

Abstract

Four monkeys have completed the study as subjects, and two more are now being tested. All four Ss were able to perform above the '90% criterion on the entire series of eight problems in random order. After the basic problem series had been learned, four series of generalization tests were conducted. Two of them requiring the movement of a familar shape to an anchored new shape, and the other two series requiring the movement of a new shape, and the other two series requiring the movement of a new shape to an anchored familiar shape. Within each of these pairs of generalization tests, one series involved two alternatives and one terminal position, while the other series involved only one alternative but two possible terminal positions. The results to date indicate quite clearly that the two-alternative generalization can be achieved with considerable efficiency by these subjects, but the differential contributions of relative and absolute spatial location cannot be specified. The design of these tests is being changed for the remaining animals in order to eliminate this source of ambiguity. The one-alternative tests have not produced significant results as yet. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 18, 1963
Accession Number
AD0424724

Entities

People

  • Charles H. Hill

Organizations

  • George Washington University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ambiguity
  • Efficiency
  • Learning
  • Terminals

Readers

  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.
  • Psychometric Testing or Psychological Assessment.
  • Theoretical Analysis.