Visual Delayed matching-to-sample in a California sea lion
(Zalophus californianus)
- Adam A. Pack
University of Hawaii, Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Lboratory, 1129
Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI, USA, 96814
-
- (C) 1988 University of Hawaii
A juvenile female California sea lion (Zalophus californianus)
was trained to match 3-dimensional arbitrary objects in a 2-alternative
matching-to-sample task. The study examined the animal’s
ability to learn the identity matching rule and apply it to new
matching-to-sample problems involving new visual objects. The
study also examined the sea lion’s ability to remember the
identity of the sample stimulus over delays. To test for matching
ability a “sample” object was exposed until the sea
lion touched it, and then it was removed. Two alternative objects
were shown. A touch of the object matching the sample was required
for a correct response. With the first pair of objects, a 90%
or better performance criterion over two consecutive sessions
was met after 724 trials. New pairs of objects were then introduced
into the matching paradigm. The sea lion showed generalization
of the matching rule to new objects in that errors to criterion
declined markedly over successive pairs of objects. In addition
to generalization, the sea lion could retain the identity of the
sample stimulus with delays between the removal of the sample
and the exposure of the alternatives, of up to and including 58
seconds (the longest delay tested).
- Pack, A. A. (1988). Visual Delayed matching-to-sample in a California
sea lion (Zalophus californianus). Unpublished master's thesis,
University of Hawaii, Honolulu
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