Are we supposed to assume that the pigeon did not have any insight because it did pigeon like things in getting to the goal? Or should we assume that insight as displayed by Sultan is available to many species, including pigeons? If Skinner's bird was not shaped to do what it did, then I am willing to believe that the pigeon here demonstrates insight as well as Sultan did (perhaps not the best demonstration of insight, but certainly not contradicted by showing other species doing the same thing). But what is the behaviorist argument from this pigeon behavior? If the pigeon wasn't shaped to do this, then it is hardly good evidence at all against the phenomenon of "insight" in animals if one believes Sultan's behavior demonstrates such things. If the pigeon was shaped, then I am having trouble seeing the point other than the point Skinner liked to make that you can get animals to appear to be intelligent when they are not, like having pigeons peck to a sign that says "Peck" and to not peck in the presence of a sign that says "Don't Peck". Perhaps that is why this video was made, and also why it has not had wide distribution.
>>> "Christopher D. Green" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 04/19/08 7:20 PM >>> I had never seen this Skinner video before, but it is a very clever piece of anti-Gestalt propaganda. It shows a pigeon which is unable to reach a banana that is hung from the top of its enclosure. The pigeon has to move a small box across the floor and stand on it in order to reach the banana, just like Sultan the chimp did on Tenerif(f)e. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-379689165140339264&hl=en Chris Green York U. Toronto --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
