| Abstract: | Object permanence tests were administered to ring doves (Streptopelia risoria). In Experiment 1 (N?=?4), doves received tests in which a food cup was moved behind a screen as the subject watched. The birds successfully retrieved the food when a single screen was used but failed to do so when food was displaced behind 1 of 2 simultaneously present screens. In Experiment 2 (N?=?4), doves were allowed to initiate search movement before the object disappeared behind 1 of 2 screens. This procedural change improved performance. In Experiment 3 (N?=?2), a screen was lowered over a stationary object as the subject approached the object. Lowering the screen interrupted search behavior temporarily without impairing performance. It is argued that interruption of search behavior requires some cognitive flexibility that the typical Stage 4a capacity described in Piaget's theory does not include. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
