Levels of stimulus control: a functional approach

This paper surveys some illustrative experiments on categorization of visual stimuli by animals other than human. The results suggest a classification of categorical powers in five steps from simple discrimination to rote and open-ended categorization, to concepts and the use of abstract relations....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCognition Vol. 37; no. 1-2; p. 133
Main Author Herrnstein, R J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Netherlands 01.11.1990
Subjects
Animals
Attention
Cognition
Columbidae
Concept Formation
Discrimination Learning
Mental Recall
Pattern Recognition, Visual
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Summary:This paper surveys some illustrative experiments on categorization of visual stimuli by animals other than human. The results suggest a classification of categorical powers in five steps from simple discrimination to rote and open-ended categorization, to concepts and the use of abstract relations. Nonhuman animals evidently readily categorize up to the fourth level as here defined, which is the level of concepts. With difficulty, they can sometimes be induced to rise even to the level of abstract relations. It is at the level of abstract relations that a large gap opens up between human categorizations and categorization by other animals.
ISSN:0010-0277
DOI:10.1016/0010-0277(90)90021-B