Performance Correlates of Social behavior and Organization of Non-Human Primates.
Abstract
This project identified and investigated performance variables that are correlated with social rank, social behavior, and social organization in monkeys of the genus Macaca. Five rhesus males, six Java males from one group, and six Java males from another were assigned to one or several of the following behavioral tests: (1) An operant frustration paradigm; (2) An operant differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) task; (3) A reversal-learning task in the WGTA; and (4) A complex concept formation task also using the WGTA. The operant data reveal that high ranking Javas are more responsive to frustration (i.e. brusting in non-reinforced intervals or following non-reinforced responses in DRL schedules) and are generally less efficient performers on FI schedules than are low ranking Javas. This inverse relation between rank and efficiency was also apparent in the WGTA tasks, where lower ranking monkeys acquired the original task as well as subsequent reversals at a faster rate than those of higher rank and were more flexible in selecting and shifting to winning strategies in the complex concept formation task. Data on schedule-induced polydipsia, obtained in conjunction with frustration testing, are included.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 15, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA023813
Entities
People
- Bradford N. Bunnell
- Irwin S. Bernstein
- Joseph D. Allen
Organizations
- University of Georgia