Analysis of choice in honeybees

Abstract

Free-flying honeybees were trained in a set of four problems to choose between two differently scented targets, one or the other of which contained sucrose solution. The training was simulated quantitatively, always with the same simple linear equations for computing changes produced by reinforcement and nonreinforcement in the strength of association between each target and the sucrose, but with a diverse array of functions for predicting choice on the basis of relative strength. Accuracy of prediction was indexed by the root-mean-square (RMS) deviation of simulated data from real data. The results provide some good approximations of what is tentatively assumed to be the true choice function, setting the stage for further development of the associative features of the model to encompass more complex phenomena of honeybee learning in choice situations. © 1985 Psychonomic Society, Inc.