Chow Pizza K Y, Leaver Lisa A, Wang Ming, Lea Stephen E G
Psychology Department, University of Exeter.
Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine.
J Exp Psychol Anim Learn Cogn. 2015 Oct;41(4):343-53. doi: 10.1037/xan0000072. Epub 2015 Jul 6.
Learning allows individuals to adapt their behaviors flexibly to a changing environment. When the same change recurs repeatedly, acquiring relevant tactics may increase learning efficiency. We examined this relationship, along with the effects of proactive interference and other interference information, in a serial spatial reversal task with 5 gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis). Squirrels completed an acquisition and 11 reversal phases with a poke box in which 2 of 4 possible reward locations were baited diagonally in a square array. In this situation, an efficient tactic is to locate the diagonally related locations consecutively (integrative search tactic) instead of searching rewards in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction (sequential search tactic). All squirrels formed a learning set, acquiring successive reversals in fewer trials. Although 4 squirrels gradually employed more integrative tactics in locating the rewards both within and between phases, sequential tactics were used in the first trial of each phase. This suggests the integrative tactic did not depend on an association between the rewarded locations but was learned as a spatial pattern and/or by use of extra-apparatus cues to locate individual rewards. Generalized estimating equation models showed that learning efficiency increased with experience and tactic change. Although tactic change partially mediated the effect of learning on learning efficiency, learning remained an independent contribution to improved efficiency. Squirrels that used more integrative tactics made fewer total errors than squirrels that used less integrative tactics, suggesting that learning a task-relevant tactic using spatial cues can provide direct benefits in maximizing rewards and minimizing time costs.
学习使个体能够灵活地调整其行为以适应不断变化的环境。当相同的变化反复出现时，掌握相关策略可能会提高学习效率。我们在一项针对5只灰松鼠（Sciurus carolinensis）的连续空间反转任务中，研究了这种关系以及前摄干扰和其他干扰信息的影响。松鼠们通过一个戳箱完成了一个习得阶段和11个反转阶段，在这个戳箱中，4个可能的奖励位置中有2个以正方形阵列的对角方式放置诱饵。在这种情况下，一种有效的策略是连续定位对角相关的位置（整合搜索策略），而不是按顺时针或逆时针方向搜索奖励（顺序搜索策略）。所有松鼠都形成了一个学习集，在较少的试验中完成了连续的反转。虽然4只松鼠在各阶段内和各阶段之间寻找奖励时逐渐更多地采用了整合策略，但在每个阶段的第一次试验中都使用了顺序策略。这表明整合策略并不依赖于奖励位置之间的关联，而是作为一种空间模式和/或通过使用额外的装置线索来定位单个奖励而习得的。广义估计方程模型表明，学习效率随着经验和策略变化而提高。虽然策略变化部分介导了学习对学习效率的影响，但学习仍然是提高效率的一个独立因素。使用更多整合策略的松鼠比使用较少整合策略的松鼠总错误更少，这表明利用空间线索学习与任务相关的策略可以在最大化奖励和最小化时间成本方面提供直接好处。
