An experimental analog of metacontingency in pigeons

• Grant number: 11/18749-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2011
• End date: October 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Saulo Missiaggia Velasco
• Grantee: Arthur Mitio Nagae
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psicologia (IP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The present research project will investigate the necessary and sufficient conditions for metacontingency selection and perpetuation of cultural practices through successive generations of non-human individuals. Eight pigeons (Columbia livia) will be used. The equipment will consist of an operant conditioning box divided in half by a transparent acrylic wall, forming two chambers. Each chamber will allocate one pigeon and will have two response discs vertically aligned. The discs may be illuminated in green or red, randomly. In the first experimental condition, all the subjects will be trained individually to peck one of two discs, alternately, to produce 4 s of access to the feeder. Condition 2 will be conducted with a single pair of subjects, the individual contingencies of Condition 1 will be maintained and two metacontingencies will be introduced: 8 s of access to the feeder (called here cultural consequence) will be produced since the discs are illuminated in red and the pigeon's peck the discs placed on the same height; or since the discs are illuminated in green and the pigeon's peck the discs placed on different height. On Condition 3, the contingencies and metacontingencies from before will be kept and it will be implemented the systematic substitution of the subjects. Evidence of metacontingecy selection will be considered if the cultural consequence is produced systematically in Condition 2. Evidence of cultural practice will be considered if the cultural consequence is promptly produced after the subjects' substitution. Somewhat weaker evidence will be considered if the cultural consequence begins to be produced systematically in much less trials than in the first pair of subjects. If no generations show any of these patterns, it can be provided as the first experimental evidence that metacontingecies may be restricted to human social interactions.(AU)