Researchers are training pigeons to peck to receive food pellets when they see gratings but withhold their pecks to receive pellets when they see a uniform gray circle. This procedure will help the researchers determine
A) whether or not pigeons can see color.
B) whether or not pigeons have feature detectors.
C) how much contrast a grating must have before it looks different from the gray circle to a pigeon.
D) whether pigeons are intelligent enough to learn to peck one stimulus rather than another.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The procedure described is designed to determine the threshold for contrast detection in pigeons, specifically, how much contrast a grating must have before it is discernible from a uniform gray circle to a pigeon. Option A is incorrect because the experiment does not involve color perception. Option B is incorrect because feature detection is not the explicit focus of this experiment although it may be a byproduct of the data collected. D is incorrect because the procedure does not test for general intelligence but rather a specific sensory ability.

Researchers Are Training Pigeons to Peck to Receive Food Pellets