| Abstract: | The movements of five unrestrained dogs were monitored during discriminative Pavlovian conditioning. An auditory-visual stimulus from one source (CS+) was followed by meat morsels (US); the same stimulus from another source (CS?) was not. Sources were equidistant from the site of US delivery. Before each trial, animals were required to position themselves at a starting location equidistant from both sources and removed from the US site. The stable behavior pattern in most subjects included approach to and contact or near contact with CS+, followed by approach to the US site. Dogs showed individually distinctive action patterns to CS+, in some cases suggestive of soliciting, in another of sight-pointing. Similar actions were not evoked by CS?. In postacquisition tests, patterns were generally unaffected by increased deprivation or by relocating the starting position next to the US site. The auditory component of CS+ was more effective than the visual. With a response-contingent procedure animals were successfully trained to approach the US site directly, although many trials, and in one case a special procedure, were required. It was proposed that the experimental signaling arrangement mimics a natural signaling sequence and induces appetitive behavior to the CS that corresponds to the behavior induced by certain natural signals of the US. |
