Matching and nonmatching concept learning in rats

Abstract

In three experiments, rats’ ability to form a relational concept was examined. In Experiment 1, they were trained on a matching task under a 2-sec delay, a 0-sec delay, or a simultaneous condition. Group 2-sec delay learned the nonmatching as rapidly as the other groups. In Experiment 2, rats were trained on a delayed matching or nonmatching task and then under either shift or nonshift conditions by using stimuli that recurred over trials within each session. Performance on the first trial in Phase 2 between Groups Nonshift (75% correct) and Shift (25% correct) have been symmetrically displaced from chance level. In Experiment 3, rats trained on a same-different task in Phase 1 learned a shift task more rapidly than those trained on a discrimination task in Phase 1. These results produced several converging lines of evidence that suggest that rats have the ability to learn the abstract concepts of matching-nonmatching and same-different. © 1993, Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.