Primate Learning
Class of Primates
• Four Major Classes of Primates
Great Apes
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Man (1) (The world)
Gorilla (2)(Africa)
Chimpanzee (3) (Africa)
Orang-u-tan (1)(Borneo & Sumatra)
Gibbon (3) (South East Asia & India)
Monkeys
• New World (Platyrhine – flat nose)
• Old World (Catyrhine – snout nose)
• Simans (restricted to the Island of
Madacascar
The Macaques
• 14 Varieties of Macaques
Macca mullata
• Rhesus monkey – best known and
researched monkey of all monkeys used
Insight
• What is meant by the term insight?
Tie the two strings together problem
Wolfgang Köhler
• Insight in Anthropoid Apes
• The studies were the work done while
interred on the island of Tenerifeff for the
duration of WWI
• Mentality of Apes
The problems used by Köhler
• Classic string and basket problems
• Roundabout (Umveg) problems (Where in
space is one?)
• Use of implement problems (tool use)
• Manipulating objects
String, mechanical connection problem
String Problems are Perceptual Problems
• The chimp must understand the
relationship between the string and its
connection to the basket.
• Most animals would understand that
pulling on the string would swing the
basket sufficient to empty the fruit.
• No chimp learned to untie the not and
lower the basket.
Roundabout (Umveg) problems
• Here the chimp must turn its back and
loose sight of the reinforcement, traversing
a path away from the reward to find a path
to the reward.
Tool Use
• Construct a tool using implements found in
the environment
Sulton: fitting two stick together to make a
longer stick to retrieve a hanging reward
How to make a long stick
• Only Sultan learned to put two sticks
together as a solution to the problem. It
required that he played with sticks before
the problem was given to him.
Using a climb-”uponable”
Observation by Sultan, box stacking by
Grande.
• The insight: box stacking
• Note the vicarious use of the hand by
Sultan
Trial and Error Learning Within Insight
Learning
• Note the necessity to learn how to stack
boxes within the concept of how to
achieve a higher goal.
• Insight in progress
Build together but not in common
Climb “uponable” and use of stick
The work of Harry Harlow
• Hypothesis: Can one teach a monkey to
learn how to learn.
• Short hand: Can one teach insight to a
monkey
Wisconsin General Test Apparatus
(WGTA)
Monkeys come with preset
biases.
• No monkeys is totally naïve.
• Monkey is trained (shaped)
with one object to expect
the reward to be under the
object.
Learning--To--Learn
• A problem is constructed of many different
sundry of small, differing in color, size
shape (object quality of cues).
• Two objects are randomly chosen to
constitute one problem for object
discrimination.
• 500 such two objects problems are
constructed.
Object Discrimination
• A given problem is presented with the two
objects of a given problem covering the
two food-wells on the form board of the
WGTA
• Animals job is to discriminate between the
two objects such that it can obtain the
hidden food reward.
Learning Set
Incomplete learning on each problem
• Each problem is presented for only 6 trials.
• No problem is repeated.
• Problem are grouped in 50 to 100 problem
groups
• All groups look at the mean response for
trial 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, respectively and
plotted as a curve.
Two Types of Learning in Learning-Set
• Intra-problem: The learning seen within a
given problem, the behavior across trial 26.
• Inter-problem: The learning based on
groups of problems; 1-8,……..,252-312.
ERROR FACTOR
• Response tendencies that have to be
suppressed in order to demonstrate
learning a rule
Differential Cue
• On trial n, a correct response reinforces
both the object quality of the stimulus and
the position of the object. To select the
negative object on trailN irrespective of
position and having responded correctly
on trialN-1, is a differ.ential cue error
STIMULUS PERSEVERATION
• Selecting the same objects on trialn when
not rewarded on trial-1 .
RESPONSE SHIFT
• Selection of the non-rewarded object on
trial n+1 after successfully responding to
the rewarded object on trial n.
POSITION HABIT
• Repetitive responses to either the right or
left food-well, regardless of the position of
the correct object.
• Also known as a perseveration error of
position. The term is also used in human
psychological testing.
• How do the sequences of
responses vary trial-bytrial?
Use a forced choice on the first trial.
• One can force the monkey to be correct or
make an error on the first trial by loading
each food well with food or loading no
food-well with food respectively.
• One next looks at the next 4 response
sequence to define how the animal is
responding.
Analysis of the data as by rule
formation
• Monkeys are not naïve.
• The monkeys can be thought to respond
as though they have a rule which guides
their behavior.
• Guide by rule are called hypotheses.
THERE ARE NINE, AND ONLY NINE,
HYPOTHESIS OR RULES THAT
MIGHT CONTROL THE MONKEY’S
BEHAVIOR IN A OBJECT
DISCRIMINATION TASK.
THE RULE
• WIN-STAY, LOOSE-SHIFT
WHAT TASK CAN BE USED
TO DEMONSTRATE THAT
THE MONKEY USES A
RULE TO SOLVE
LEARNING SET
PROBLEMS?
• REVERSAL LEARNING
Reversal Learning
Only two objects are presented to the
monkey over the course of learning
• Position (right, left) of the correct object is
randomized
• The object chosen to be correct is correct
for a fixed number of trials ( 3 or more
trials) or to a criterion of behavior (9
correct responses out of 10 responses)
Data is grouped into blocks of problems
(reversal of reinforcement) in terms of
percentage of correct responses.
Learning Set
ODDITY LEARNING
• The learning of that which
is odd when surrounded
by similar objects.
Higher Ordered Learning
• Learning that uses two or
more cues to solve the
problem.
An-if-then (contingent ) problem
• Color of the tray is the operating cue to
use for the decision of which object to
choose.
Weigl Oddity problem
• Background cue color
• Two objects of the same form
• Two objects the same color
Weigl Oddity
• USE TRAY BACKGROUND CUE TO
CHOOSE – BLACK BACKGROUND
CHOOOSE ODD FORM; WHITE
BACKGROUND CHOOSE ODD COLOR
Weigle Oddity
A very difficult problem
• The best performance is found in monkeys
over 6 years old
• At best the monkey will be 86 percent
correct
• DELAYED RESPONSE
Lateral hemisphere showing prefrontal
cortex
• Anterior to the arcuate sulcus (ASD, ASV),
surface of 8 , banks and depths of PS
(principal sulcus, 46D, 46V), and 9.
• All of the surface you see except the
olfactory trace and the tip of the temporal
lobe.
Delayed Response
• A time delay is imposed
between when the animal
sees the placement of the
reward and when the
animal is allowed to
respond to recover the
reward.
Wisconsin General Test Apparatus
WGTA
AGE RELATED DELAY
RESPONSE
Hamilton search task
• The monkey must search
the boxes to find the
reward.
• If the reward is in box x on
trial n, there is no chance
for the reward to be in box x
on trial n+1.
TWO TYPES OF ERRORS
IN THE HAMILTON SERCH
TASK
• PERSEVERATION ERROR –
RETURNING TO A BOX
PREVIOUSLY VISITED.
• SEQUENCE ERRORS – NOT
A TRUE ERROR. SHOWS
LACK OF CONSISTANCY
Perseverative errors, Hamilton
Search Task
Sequence errors – Hamilton
Search Task
TASKS THAT ARE
EFFECTED BY
PREFRONTAL DAMAGE IN
MONKEYS AND MAN
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ALL THE TASK WE HAVE
SEEN
Learning set
Reversal learning
Delay response
Oddity
Wiegle Oddity
Non-match to sample.
Hamilton Search Task
• DELAY OF RESPONSE
CHANGES IS THE MOST
DRAMATICALLY AND
IMMEDIATELY SEEN ON
RECOUVERY FROM
PREFRONTAL REMOVAL.