| Abstract: | In 4 experiments, 3-day-old Burmese Red Junglefowl chicks were allowed to peck food, sand, or mealworms or were force-fed liquid food, glucose water, or water and were tested later on either food or sand. Only experience that involved pecking led to the development of a discrimination between food and sand based on short-term metabolic feedback. These and previous results can be accounted for by postulating that the act of pecking and a hunger coordinating mechanism develop independently but experience is necessary for the association of pecking with the hunger system (i.e., chicks must learn that pecking leads to ingestion). After this association is formed, unlearned physiological mechanisms could modulate the rate of pecking directly. Immediate discrimination between food and sand, based on taste cues, occurred when chicks had 3 separate experiences in ingesting food. This result can be accounted for by using a standard discrimination learning paradigm. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
