Department of Psychology, University of Otago, New Zealand.
J Exp Anal Behav. 2011 Jul;96(1):7-15. doi: 10.1901/jeab.2011.96-7.
Pigeons performed a delayed matching-to-sample task in which large or small reinforcers for correct remembering were signaled during the retention interval. Accuracy was low when small reinforcers were signaled, and high when large reinforcers were signaled (the signaled magnitude effect). When the reinforcer-size cue was switched from small to large partway through the retention interval, accuracy accordingly changed from low to high. The opposite happened when the cue was switched from large to small. This dissociation of forgetting from the passage of time raises the possibility that remembering is delay-specific. The reversal of the signaled magnitude effect during the retention interval is consistent with an attentional account in which the stimulus control of remembering is influenced by extraneous events.
鸽子在延迟匹配样本任务中表现出色，在保持间隔期间，大或小的强化物会提示正确的记忆。当提示小强化物时，准确性较低，而当提示大强化物时，准确性较高（提示大小效应）。当强化物大小提示在保持间隔中途从小切换到大时，准确性相应地从低变为高。相反，当提示从小切换到大时，情况就会发生变化。这种遗忘与时间流逝的分离增加了记忆具有特定延迟的可能性。保持间隔期间提示大小效应的逆转与注意力解释一致，在该解释中，记忆的刺激控制受到外部事件的影响。
