On Fri, 03 Dec 1999 10:41:13 -0500 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> On a related topic, I remember from an industrial psychology class a
> reference to research showing that pigeons were superior at removing flawed
> phamaceuticals from an assembly line than were humans. The company did not
> implement a pigeon quality review team, though, because of image concerns.
> Is there a grain of truth in any of this? I would like to use it as an
> example of discrimination learning if I can verify it.
>
Yes, Thom Verhave made such a proposal in a 1966 article in
American Psychologist and in a 1967 Psychology Today article.
However, having worked with pigeons, there are issues of
sanitation to be considered.
Ken
Reference:
Verhave, T. (1966). The pigeon as a quality-control inspector.
American Psychologist, 21, 109-115.
(I hope that OSHA never asks an operant lab about the exact
constituents of "piegon dust")
----------------------
Kenneth M. Steele [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Associate Professor
Dept. of Psychology
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
USA
