Figure 4 - uploaded by Robert Epstein
Content may be subject to copyright.
"Insight" in the pigeon. (A,B) The bird looks back and forth from banana to box. (C) It pushes the box toward the banana. (D) It climbs and pecks.
Source publication
Simulations of complex human behaviors with pigeons are providing plausible environmental accounts of such behaviors, as well as data-based commentaries on non-behavioristic psychology. Behaviors said to show "symbolic communication," "insight," "self-awareness," and the "spontaneous use of memoranda" have thus far been simulated, and other simulat...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... made some reasonable guesses about the origins of this behavior. Two repertoires seemed necessary: climbing on objects to reach other ones, and pushing things around. Since a pigeon normally does neither, it seemed an ideal candidate to test an environmental account of the chimp's "insight." We taught a pigeon to push a small moveable box around, and also to climb on a box fixed beneath a toy banana and then to peck the banana. We also placed it in the chamber with the banana alone and out of reach until brute force attempts to peck the banana (by fly- ing and jumping) had extinguished. With the two repertoires established-that is, pushing and climbing-we hung the banana out of reach in one corner of the chamber and placed the moveable box in another corner-a new situation for the bird, not unlike the one that faced the chimps. It would be convenient for our account of the chimp's behavior if the bird then behaved somewhat like the chimp-say, if it paced and looked perplexed, stretched toward the banana, glanced back and forth from box to banana and then energetically pushed the box toward it, say, looking up at it repeatedly as it did so, then stopped just short of it, climbed and pecked.2 This is in fact a fair statement of just what one of our birds did, and it accomplished this in less than 1 minute (Figure 4). The other two subjects we have tested thus far also solved the problem but required more time-about 10 and 24 minutes, respec- tively. showing that both the climbing and pushing repertoires are necessary for the solution. We are thus constructing a plausible account of the emergence of "insightful" behavior entirely in terms of known environmental ...
Citations
... As an example of the latter, the influential Columban Simulation Project by Skinner and Epstein had pigeon Jack "thanking" pigeon Jill for providing information on a colored key illuminated in Jill's vicinity. Although the symbolic communication occurred under extremely unnatural conditions-thus lacking ecological validityit extended a body of research on stimulus control and reinforcement and provided a more parsimonious explanation for symbolic communication by nonhuman animals than that being proposed at the time (Epstein, 1981). Thus, the relation between ecological validity and external validity may depend on other aspects of the experiment-namely, experimental design. ...
Ecological validity refers to how closely an experiment aligns with real‐world phenomena. In applied behavioral research, ecological validity may guide decisions about experimental settings, stimuli, people, and other design features. However, inconsistent use of the term ecological validity in the published literature has led to a somewhat disjointed technology. The purposes of this paper were to review current uses of the term “ecological validity” in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, propose ways to make a study more ecologically valid, and develop a checklist to assist in identifying the type and degree of ecological validity in any given study.
... 175). Epstein's Generativity Theory, which grew out of some earlier collaborations with B.F. Skinner ( e.g., see Epstein, 1981), also emphasized that broadening skills or knowledge was critical in creativity, because creative insights often arose when previously learned behaviors or ideas became interconnected (Epstein, 2014). ...
Despite widespread misunderstandings, B.F. Skinner did not ignore creativity. The present article first integrates Skinner’s writings with some current research in creativity that focuses on the role of near associations in creative innovations. Next, Skinner’s writings are integrated with the role of the unconscious in creativity, including some practical advice that may be helpful in capturing unconscious insights. Finally, Skinner’s writings are integrated with techniques that may stimulate creativity, using the analogy that variation may be critical in both creativity and natural selection. Although Skinner’s work is often considered outdated, the present article shows that Skinner’s writings share similarities with some current research in human creativity.
... The behavioral processes associated with chaining are relevant to many problemsolving scenarios. In Epstein's (1981) well-known experiment, pigeons "spontaneously" solved the problem of reaching a suspended banana by emitting components of the required sequence of responses that had been trained separately: moving a box to a specific location and standing on the box. In test trials, the stimulus context consisted of a banana suspended out of reach and a box positioned too far from the banana. ...
Perspective taking has been studied extensively using a wide variety of experimental tasks. The theoretical constructs that are used to develop these tasks and interpret the results obtained from them, most notably theory of mind (ToM), have conceptual shortcomings from a behavior-analytic perspective. The behavioral approach to conceptualizing and studying this class of behavior is parsimonious and pragmatic, but the body of relevant research is currently small. The prominent relational frame theory (RFT) approach to derived perspective taking asserts that “deictic framing” is a core component of this class of behavior, but this proposal also appears to be conceptually problematic. We suggest that in many cases perspective taking is problem solving; when successful, both classes of behavior involve the emission of context-appropriate precurrent behavior that facilitates the appropriate response (i.e., the “solution”). Conceptualizing perspective taking in this way appears to have many advantages, which we explore herein.
... After training, the porpoises engaged in a wide range of variable and complex novel responses (Neuringer, 2004;Pryor et al., 1969). Several studies have also been conducted with pigeons in which the birds were trained to emit responses that simulated complex human behaviors such as symbolic communication, "self-awareness," and "insight"-which will be discussed below (Epstein, 1981). Of course, response variability has also been trained in humans through operant conditioning procedures (Neuringer, 1986). ...
Creativity and innovation have brought about phenomenal changes throughout human history. Art, science, medicine, industry, and technology have all grown through creative and innovative behavior. A complete science of human behavior needs to account for “creativity,” especially given its importance in society. Prior behavioral research has been able to account for creative behavior in animals by training the component skills of a complex creative solution and arranging environmental conditions which result in the recombination of component skills to produce a creative solution. The present study partially replicates creativity research conducted in a laboratory setting with animals by conducting a similarly arranged laboratory study with humans. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether a creative solution to a difficult problem could be produced by teaching participants the necessary component skills and arranging the environment in such a way as to cause the component skills to recombine in order to solve the problem. The present study suggests that such an approach may be viable and provides an experimental task that can be used in future human creativity research.
... In his article on vertebrate intelligence, Macphail (1985) argues that there are no qualitative differences between vertebrate species when it comes to their cognitive abilities. His major line of reasoning builds on the success of the "Columban Simulation Project" to reproduce experiments performed with primates, using pigeons (Epstein, 1981(Epstein, , 1986Epstein et al., 1984). While quantitative differences can be described, e.g., by inspecting the required amount of training to master a task (Scarf and Colombo, 2020), the claim for a lack of qualitative difference appears to be more robust. ...
Working memory (WM), the representation of information held accessible for manipulation over time, is an essential component of all higher cognitive abilities. It allows for complex behaviors that go beyond simple stimulus-response associations and inflexible behavioral patterns. WM capacity determines how many different pieces of information (items) can be used for these cognitive processes, and in humans, it correlates with fluid intelligence. As such, WM might be a useful tool for comparison of cognition across species. WM can be tested using comparatively simple behavioral protocols, based on operant conditioning, in a multitude of different species. Species-specific contextual variables that influence an animal’s performance on a non-cognitive level are controlled by adapting the WM paradigm. The neuronal mechanisms by which WM emerges in the brain, as sustained neuronal activity, are comparable between the different species studied (mammals and birds), as are the areas of the brain in which WM activity can be measured. Thus WM is comparable between vastly different species within their respective niches, accounting for specific contextual variables and unique adaptations. By approaching the question of “general cognitive abilities” or “intelligence” within the animal kingdom from the perspective of WM, the complexity of the core question at hand is reduced to a fundamental memory system required to allow for complex cognitive abilities. This article argues that measuring WM can be a suitable addition to the toolkit of comparative cognition. By measuring WM on a behavioral level and going beyond behavior to the underlying physiological processes, qualitative and quantitative differences in cognition between different animal species can be identified, free of contextual restraints.
... Muitos modelos experimentais de comportamentos complexos (como os de resolução de problemas, recordar-se, escolha e autocontrole) foram diretamente embasadas em descrições skinnerianas das contingências diante das quais tais termos são emitidos como tatos (e.g. Epstein, 1981;Hanna & Todorov, 2002). No caso específico de "criatividade", uma revisão das descrições de Skinner para o termo permite salientar um aspecto pouco debatido por estudos analítico-comportamentais sobre criatividade: o termo pode referir-se a um conjunto de comportamentos emitidos por um indivíduo cuja consequência principal é a alteração do ambiente de modo a potencializar a geração de seus próprios comportamentos novos. ...
ARTIGOS CONCEITUAIS | CONCEPTUAL ARTICLES | ARTÍCULOS CONCEPTUALES RESUMO: Este artigo analisa semelhanças e diferenças en-tre as descrições skinnerianas dos comportamentos tradicio-nalmente chamados de resolver problemas, recordar-se, au-tocontrolar-se, tomar decisão e comportar-se criativamente. Foram lidos capítulos em que Skinner descreve contingên-cias evocativas do termo "criatividade" e de termos relacio-nados pelo autor, identificando-se características comuns e diferenças nas descrições propostas. Tal análise destaca a ocorrência de comportamentos precorrentes por meio dos quais o ambiente é manipulado pelo indivíduo de modo a au-mentar (ou diminuir) a probabilidade de uma resposta dele mesmo, como a principal semelhança entre os casos discu-tidos. As diferenças estão nas consequências reforçadoras, características da situação antecedente e elementos das con-tingências que podem ser especificados previamente à emis-são da resposta. São discutidas as possibilidades abertas por essa descrição para a investigação experimental do compor-tamento criativo e para aplicações da Análise do Compor-tamento interessadas em fortalecer a produção de compor-tamentos criativos. Palavras-chave: resolução de problemas; criatividade; to-mada de decisões; autocontrole; análise do comportamento. ABSTRACT: This paper analyzes similarities and differences between the Skinnerian descriptions of the behaviors traditionally called problem solving, self-remembering , self-control, decision-making, and creativity. We read the chapters in which Skinner describe contingencies that evoke the term "creativity" and terms related by this author,
... An excellent illustration of these efforts is provided by Epstein et al.'s (1980Epstein et al.'s ( , 1981 series of experiments with pigeons, in which they modeled complex individual and social behavior that included problem solving, creativity, self-recognition, symbolic communication, competition, and observational behavior. A common aspect across Epstein and colleagues' experiments that specifically targeted social interactions was the explicit dissection of the foundational individual operant repertories and the interlocking contingencies involved (Epstein, 1981). For instance, in Epstein et al.'s (1980) Jack and Jill experiment on symbolic communication, manding was trained in a pigeon named Jack and tacting in another pigeon named Jill. ...
Mounting interest in the evolutionary and contemporary aspects of human-dog association has resulted in growing research efforts from different disciplines with differing methodologies and areas of emphasis. Despite its potential to contribute to the understanding of human-dog interactions, behavior-analytic research efforts are scarce. We are illustrating how the behavior-analytic three-level selection by consequences framework could be applied to inform research on human-dog interactions. Therefore, the notions of interlocking behavioral contingencies and metacontingencies are applied to interpret specific interactions and suggest potential lines of research. We first analyze the development of cooperative hunting of prehistoric humans and dogs, and its implications for interspecific social-communicative skills. Second, we discuss contemporary family practices that involve the interactions between parents, children and family dogs via an analysis of a prototypic social episode. Lastly, we provide an overview of the main approaches that have contributed to the understanding of the human-dog interactions (e.g., anthrozoological), and show how their findings can be placed within the behavior-analytic framework. We conclude that the coherence of the selectionist framework is a major strength that not only can contribute to synthesize a large amount of scattered research on human-dog relationships conducted across various fields, but can also inform further research and applications.
... Thirty years ago Burrhus Frederic Skinner and Robert Epstein began what is known as the Columban Simulation Project (Epstein, 1981(Epstein, , 1986(Epstein, , 1991. First floated as the "Pigeon Simulation Project, " "Pigeon" was switched out for "Columban" (derived from the taxonomic name for pigeons) because it sounded more "computer like" (Epstein, 1981). ...
... Thirty years ago Burrhus Frederic Skinner and Robert Epstein began what is known as the Columban Simulation Project (Epstein, 1981(Epstein, , 1986(Epstein, , 1991. First floated as the "Pigeon Simulation Project, " "Pigeon" was switched out for "Columban" (derived from the taxonomic name for pigeons) because it sounded more "computer like" (Epstein, 1981). Rather than just a play on words, Skinner and Epstein drew a great deal on the computer simulation literature and their intention was to provide a true simulation, one that "faithfully reproduces all significant characteristics of some phenomenon" (Epstein, 1986, p. 132). ...
... With the aim of testing the limits of Macphail's (1985) Null Hypothesis, and drawing inspiration from the Columban Simulation Project (Epstein, 1981(Epstein, , 1986(Epstein, , 1991, we set about comparing birds and primates using a signature-testing approach. We initially sought out corvids as experimental subjects. ...
Thirty years ago Burrhus Frederic Skinner and Robert Epstein began what is known as the Columban Simulation Project. With pigeons as their subjects, they simulated a series of studies that purportedly demonstrated insight, self-recognition, and symbolic communication in chimpanzees. In each case, with the appropriate training, they demonstrated that pigeons performed in a comparable manner to chimpanzees. When discussing these studies in the context of his Null Hypothesis, Macphail paid little attention to how the pigeons and chimpanzees solved the tasks and simply assumed that successful performance on the tasks reflected a similar underlying mechanism. Here, following a similar process to the original Columban Simulation Project, we go beyond this success testing and employ the signature testing approach to assess whether pigeons and primates employ a similar mechanism on tasks that tap numerical competence and orthographic processing. Consistent with the Null Hypothesis, pigeons and primates successfully passed novel transfer tests and, critically, displayed comparable cognitive signatures. While these findings demonstrate the absence of a qualitative difference, the time taken to train pigeons on these tasks revealed a clear quantitative difference.
... Thirty years ago Burrhus Frederic Skinner and Robert Epstein began what is known as the Columban Simulation Project (Epstein, 1981(Epstein, , 1986(Epstein, , 1991. First floated as the "Pigeon Simulation Project, " "Pigeon" was switched out for "Columban" (derived from the taxonomic name for pigeons) because it sounded more "computer like" (Epstein, 1981). ...
... Thirty years ago Burrhus Frederic Skinner and Robert Epstein began what is known as the Columban Simulation Project (Epstein, 1981(Epstein, , 1986(Epstein, , 1991. First floated as the "Pigeon Simulation Project, " "Pigeon" was switched out for "Columban" (derived from the taxonomic name for pigeons) because it sounded more "computer like" (Epstein, 1981). Rather than just a play on words, Skinner and Epstein drew a great deal on the computer simulation literature and their intention was to provide a true simulation, one that "faithfully reproduces all significant characteristics of some phenomenon" (Epstein, 1986, p. 132). ...
... With the aim of testing the limits of Macphail's (1985) Null Hypothesis, and drawing inspiration from the Columban Simulation Project (Epstein, 1981(Epstein, , 1986(Epstein, , 1991, we set about comparing birds and primates using a signature-testing approach. We initially sought out corvids as experimental subjects. ...
Thirty years ago Burrhus Frederic Skinner and Robert Epstein began what is known as the Columban Simulation Project. With pigeons as their subjects, they simulated a series of studies that purportedly demonstrated insight, self-recognition, and symbolic communication in chimpanzees. In each case, with the appropriate training, they demonstrated that pigeons performed in a comparable manner to chimpanzees. When discussing these studies in the context of his Null Hypothesis, Macphail paid little attention to how the pigeons and chimpanzees solved the tasks and simply assumed that successful performance on the tasks reflected a similar underlying mechanism. Here, following a similar process to the original Columban Simulation Project, we go beyond this success testing and employ the signature testing approach
to assess whether pigeons and primates employ a similar mechanism on tasks
that tap numerical competence and orthographic processing. Consistent with the
Null Hypothesis, pigeons and primates successfully passed novel transfer tests and,
critically, displayed comparable cognitive signatures. While these findings demonstrate
the absence of a qualitative difference, the time taken to train pigeons on these tasks
revealed a clear quantitative difference.
... This argument in terms of functional relations is similar to Darwin's arguments in support of evolution. But, like Darwin's arguments and despite relevant experimental support (e.g., Epstein, 1981), it is still often rejected, especially for verbal behavior and for behavior commonly called insightful or creative. ...
Evolution is a name for how biological populations have changed over the history of our planet. The most successful theory of why those populations have changed is Darwin's natural selection. Accounts of evolution tend to emphasize anatomical and physiological properties, such as the brain and its organization. But evolutionary contingencies select organisms based on what they can do, so brains and other structures evolved in the service of behavior. In that sense, behavior always comes first. Selection as a causal mode differs from traditional push–pull causalities. It extends from the familiar level of phylogeny (i.e., evolutionary change over generations) to ontogeny (i.e., behavior that evolves within the lifetime of an individual organism) and to sociogeny (i.e., evolving cultural practices, as behavior is passed on from some individuals to others). At each level behavior has consequences, and these consequences determine the extent to which the behavior is replicated and evolves.
