A Pigeon Solves the Classic Box-and-Banana Problem

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Real laboratory footage showing a pigeon solving Wolfgang Kohler's famous box-and-banana problem, which he studied with chimpanzees in the early 1900s. Dr. Robert Epstein and his colleagues used operant conditioning techniques to get pigeons to solve this problem "spontaneously" in the 1980s. A report of their research was published in the prestigious British journal Nature in 1984 ("Insight" in the pigeon, Nature, 1984, v. 308, pp. 61-62). Depending on their previous experience, pigeons could solve this problem in a human-like fashion in as little as a minute. This pigeon has learned to push boxes and to climb, and it has been rewarded with grain for pecking at a small toy banana. In this situation, the banana is out of reach and the box is not beneath it. At first the pigeon looks confused, then it begins pushing the box - sighting the toy banana as it pushes - and then stops pushing when the box is beneath the banana, then climbs and pecks. This and related studies were summarized in Dr. Epstein's 1996 book, Cognition, Creativity, & Behavior. For information about Dr. Epstein's research on creativity--and his scientifically-validated techniques for boosting creativity in HUMANS, visit http://CreativityCompetencies.com.
Text Comments (154)
12345652180 (10 days ago)
hey , why not check out this video
"Pierre Van Dormael - Mr.Nobody OST (a pigeon) cover"
Meade123 (12 days ago)
pigeons can fly so how smart can this pigeon be if it needs a box to reach the banana
Jillh10 (2 months ago)
@ Consumerofknowledge
They are smart and I have 6 that come into the garden "Wood pigeons" and 2 rock doves now.
Lexmark136 (1 month ago)
lol wut a retard, I could do that
CallingallHeroes (1 month ago)
@jillh10 They're smart, but we as humans are smart enough to create several different languages, study about our own history and world, and judge other animals ;P
Ccoraxfan (2 months ago)
@ihateirony
If you had read each of my comments you would note that I already observed what the text said. My point was that the pigeon was able to use its training in separate areas, that is, its store of knowledge, to solve a problem it wasn't trained specifically to solve. This is very much like the way we humans solve problems.
Consumerofknowledge (2 months ago)
@jillh10 Pigeons are smart.
Maxitae (2 months ago)
@conuropsis i freaking hate you you rock dwelling atheist
Conuropsis (2 months ago)
@ihateirony Perhaps, but newer, better-designed experiments suggest pigeons are comparatively intelligent. They can recognize themselves in the mirror, something dogs, cats, even monkeys apparently can't - only "higher" primates (gorillas, us, chimps...) and a few other critters generally acknowledged to be "smart" (dolphins, elephants, pigs, crows & ravens...). Obviously, few can compare to crows/ravens as creative problem solvers - way beyond operant conditioning; many examples on YouTube.
Ihateirony (2 months ago)
@conuropsis This video proves that youtube is an unreliable source, but if you can link me to the papers in which those birds were creative problem solvers I'd be interested to read them. Plus, self awareness isn't exactly intelligent, a lot of animals have it. I'm pretty sure that was in 1981, rather than after 1984 that Epstein showed they've self awareness anyway, so that wasn't really newer.
Therealgamerman64 (2 months ago)
A WINRAR IS YOU, PIGEON

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