Learning in the temporal bisection task: relative or absolute?

Abstract

We examined whether temporal learning in a bisection task is absolute or relational. Eight pigeons learned to choose a red key after a t-seconds sample and a green key after a 3t-seconds sample. To determine whether they had learned a relative mapping (short -> Red, long -> Green) or an absolute mapping (t-seconds -> Red, 3t-seconds -> Green), the pigeons then learned a series of new discriminations in which either the relative or the absolute mapping was maintained. Results showed that the generalization gradient obtained at the end of a discrimination predicted the pattern of choices made during the first session of a new discrimination. Moreover, most acquisition curves and generalization gradients were consistent with the predictions of the learning-to-time model, a Spencean model that instantiates absolute learning with temporal generalization. In the bisection task, the basis of temporal discrimination seems to be absolute, not relational.