ABSTRACT
This essay contributes to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Society for the History of Psychology (SHP) in its earlier form (Division 26 of the American Psychological Association). Ronald Mayer's history of the division is updated by providing a description of some of the noteworthy events and changes in the organization since his publication. (PsycINFO Database Record
Subject(s)
Historiography , Psychology/history , Societies, Scientific/history , Anniversaries and Special Events , History, 20th Century , History, 21st CenturyABSTRACT
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) selected either Arabic numerals or colored squares on a computer monitor in a learned sequence. On shift trials, the locations of 2 stimuli were interchanged at some point. More errors were made when this interchange occurred for the next 2 stimuli to be selected than when the interchange was for stimuli later in the sequence. On mask trials, all remaining stimuli were occluded after the 1st selection. Performance exceeded chance levels for only 1 selection after these masks were applied. There was no difference in performance for either stimulus type (numerals or colors). The data indicated that the animals planned only the next selection during these computerized tasks as opposed to planning the entire response sequence.
Subject(s)
Cognition , Macaca mulatta/psychology , Mathematics , Pan troglodytes/psychology , Animals , Female , Goals , Learning , Male , Task Performance and AnalysisABSTRACT
We suggest that the phenomenon of uncertainty monitoring in nonhuman animals contributes richly to the conception of nonhuman animals' self-monitoring. We propose that uncertainty may play a role in the emergence of new forms of behavior that are adaptive. We recommend that Smith et al. determine the extent to which the uncertain response transfers immediately to other test paradigms.
