| Abstract: | Rats received 2 daily sessions in a large clear chamber. A lever was mounted on each of the 4 chamber walls. For each rat, a different level provided food during 0930 and 1530 sessions. The rats learned which lever would provide food at 0930 and 1530. Probe tests suggested that the rats learned to press 1 lever during their 1st session of each day and then to press a 2nd lever during their 2nd session of each day. We propose that this knowledge of the order of a set of events within a period of time constitutes ordinal timing. We contrast the temporal information provided by ordinal, phase, and interval timing and consider why multiple timing systems have evolved in animals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
