Colour versus quantity as cues in reverse-reward-competent squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

Citation

Anderson J, Awazu S & Fujita K (2009) Colour versus quantity as cues in reverse-reward-competent squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 62 (4), pp. 673-680. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210802215186

Abstract
To assess the relative salience of colour and quantity cues, squirrel monkeys previously trained to reach for the smaller of two quantities of food in a reverse-reward contingency task received colour discrimination training. After initial failure to discriminate between two colours of dots under a differential reinforcement regime, they learned the task when the S- colour was associated with zero reward. The monkeys then showed good retention on the original reverse-reward task of 1 versus 4 with pairs of dots presented in S+ or S- colours. However, on “mismatch” trials of 1S- versus 4S+ , only 2 of 4 monkeys tested showed a preference—1 monkey chose based on quantity, the other based on colour. Individual differences and the possible roles of overshadowing and blocking are discussed.

Keywords
Squirrel monkey; Reverse-reward; Learning; Discrimination; Cues; Individual differences; Animal behavior Research; Saimiri sciureus

Journal
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology: Volume 62, Issue 4