Intermodal transfer from a visual to an auditory discrimination using an errorless learning procedure

Abstract

Errorless learning is a technique developed by Terrace [Terrace, H.S., 1963a. Discrimination training with and without "errors". J. Exp. Anal. Behav. 6, 1-27] to train stimulus discriminations with few or no errors. In the first replication of the original findings, errorless learning was also shown to transfer successfully between two visual discriminations without errors [Terrace, H.S., 1963b. Errorless transfer of a discrimination across two continua. J. Exp. Anal. Behav. 6, 223-232]. In the present experiment, we extended the errorless learning procedure to an intermodal transfer, from a discrimination between red and green colors to a discrimination between high and low tones. The pigeons were divided into two groups: an Experimental Group, which learned both discriminations through errorless learning, and a Control Group, which learned them through trial-and-error. Results showed that pigeons from the Experimental Group learned the red-green discrimination with significantly fewer errors than the Control Group and that errorless learning is effective in transferring from a visual to an auditory discrimination.