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Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior logoLink to Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
. 1982 Sep;38(2):201–203. doi: 10.1901/jeab.1982.38-201

“Lying” in the pigeon

Robert P Lanza, James Starr, B F Skinner
PMCID: PMC1347815  PMID: 6890093

Abstract

Two pigeons were taught to use symbols to communicate information about hidden colors to each other. When reporting red was more generously reinforced than reporting yellow or green, both birds passed through a period in which they “lied” by reporting another color as red.

Keywords: communication, symbolic matching, colors, lying, pigeons

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Epstein R., Lanza R. P., Skinner B. F. Symbolic Communication Between Two Pigeons, (Columba livia domestica). Science. 1980 Feb 1;207(4430):543–545. doi: 10.1126/science.207.4430.543. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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