Imitation of Conditional Discriminations in Pigeons (Columba livia)

In the present experiments, the 2-action method was used to determine whether pigeons could learn to imitate a conditional discrimination. Demonstrator pigeons (Columba livia) stepped on a treadle in the presence of 1 light and pecked at the treadle in the presence of another light. Demonstration did not seem to affect acquisition of the conditional discrimination (Experiment 1) but did facilitate its reversal of the conditional discrimination (Experiments 2 and 3). The results suggest that pigeons are not only able to learn a specific behavior by observing another pigeon, but they can also learn under which circumstances to perform that behavior. The results have implications for proposed mechanisms of imitation in animals. Imitative learning is a type of social learning in which an individual learns a specific motor behavior from watching another individual perform that behavior. Although demonstrating that animals are able to imitate may seem straightforward, facilitated acquisition can be produced by nonimitative social influence. For example, the mere presence of another animal (social facilitation) may affect the motivational state of an observer, which in turn can affect the rate of acquisition of a new response. Similarly, th