After searching the entire article for the word, mathematician", I found that 
it appears only in the title, intro, discussion and references. It is strangely 
missing from the Method sections (it is a multi-study article). Undergrads in 
intro psych are the stand-ins for mathematicians in this article although the 
title clearly suggests a two-group study comparing birds and mathematicians. I 
am glad I showed some uncharacteristic restraint and didn't send this to my 
mathematics colleague before reading it. I don't think it would have increased 
his appreciation for psychological research methodology. Was this just a 
misguided attempt to get some mass media publicity for animal research?

Rick 

Dr. Rick Froman, Chair
Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Box 3055
x7295
[email protected] 
http://tinyurl.com/DrFroman

Proverbs 14:15 "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought 
to his steps." 

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2010 9:11 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: [tips] Brainy birdbrains beat "Let's Make a Deal"

They may not outperform Marilyn vos Savant at it, but they're 
pretty good anyway.  Mathematicians, not so much. See:

Are birds smarter than mathematicians? Pigeons (Columba 
livia) perform optimally on a version of the Monty Hall Dilemma.
Herbranson, Walter T.; Schroeder, Julia. Journal of 
Comparative Psychology. Vol 124(1), Feb 2010, 1-13

The answer seems to be "yes".
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/com/124/1/1/

See also http://tinyurl.com/yfmlu3f

Stephen
--------------------------------------------
Stephen L. Black, Ph.D.          
Professor of Psychology, Emeritus   
Bishop's University               
e-mail:  sblack at ubishops.ca
2600 College St.
Sherbrooke QC  J1M 1Z7
Canada
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