Pepperberg
IV - whether the object is familiar or novel
DV - whether Alex answers correctly with ‘same’ or ‘different’
AIM - to see whether a parrot could use vocal labels to demonstrate a symbolic
understanding of the concepts ‘same’ and ‘different’
BACKGROUND STUDIES
➔ Some language skills are confined to primates, but it is thought that other
species also have a specific cognitive capacity
➔ Some animals are capable of conceptual categorisation
➔ They must recognise the category
➔ Must realise that this category can be applied to other novel objects too
➔ Skill- SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION
RESEARCH METHOD - Animal Case Study
, SAMPLE -
- 1 African Grey Parrot
- Name- ALEX
- Subject was involved in previous studies on communication and cognition
for 10 years
- Trained and tested
- He was fed suitable diet
- Given toys to play with
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
❖ NO VISIBLE DISTRESS
❖ NO PHYSICAL HARM
ETHICAL ISSUES
❖ NO CONTACT WITH OTHERS OF HIS KIND (NO SOCIALISATION)
PROCEDURE
➢ Alex already knew some vocabulary- colours, shapes and material
➢ He knew how to reply to questions like ‘ what colour?’
➢ Purpose of training- to teach alex how to respond with categorical labels ,
rather than simply describing the appearance .
IV - whether the object is familiar or novel
DV - whether Alex answers correctly with ‘same’ or ‘different’
AIM - to see whether a parrot could use vocal labels to demonstrate a symbolic
understanding of the concepts ‘same’ and ‘different’
BACKGROUND STUDIES
➔ Some language skills are confined to primates, but it is thought that other
species also have a specific cognitive capacity
➔ Some animals are capable of conceptual categorisation
➔ They must recognise the category
➔ Must realise that this category can be applied to other novel objects too
➔ Skill- SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION
RESEARCH METHOD - Animal Case Study
, SAMPLE -
- 1 African Grey Parrot
- Name- ALEX
- Subject was involved in previous studies on communication and cognition
for 10 years
- Trained and tested
- He was fed suitable diet
- Given toys to play with
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
❖ NO VISIBLE DISTRESS
❖ NO PHYSICAL HARM
ETHICAL ISSUES
❖ NO CONTACT WITH OTHERS OF HIS KIND (NO SOCIALISATION)
PROCEDURE
➢ Alex already knew some vocabulary- colours, shapes and material
➢ He knew how to reply to questions like ‘ what colour?’
➢ Purpose of training- to teach alex how to respond with categorical labels ,
rather than simply describing the appearance .
