Xref: utzoo rec.birds:460 sci.bio:957
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From: pell@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Anthony Pelletier)
Newsgroups: rec.birds,sci.bio
Subject: Re: Intelligent Parrots, or Self-deception and Gullibility.
Message-ID: <4687@sigi.Colorado.EDU>
Date: 7 Mar 88 21:32:06 GMT
References: <1988Mar4.162334.18184@utzoo.uucp>
Sender: news@sigi.Colorado.EDU
Reply-To: pell@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Anthony Pelletier)
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Lines: 34

In article <1988Mar4.162334.18184@utzoo.uucp> snell@utzoo.uucp (snell) writes:
>
>In article <308@bacchus.DEC.COM>, larrabee@decwrl.UUCP (Tracy Larrabee) writes:
>>Would you like to send Koko the Gorilla to the moon?  How about the
>>African Gray at Purdue who has a 100 word vocabulary--that is, he says and
>>understands at least 100 different words.  

A small point, Irene Pepperburg, the owner/trainer of "Alex" has, I believe,
left Purdue.  I think she is at Minn. or Wisc.  I don't recall which.
This news came as a relief to us Purdue Alums.
Publications of her's are hard to find, unless you count the cover story
the "National Examiner" once did on Alex.
When I was at ol' PU (pre '82) most people seemed to think that she was a
nut.  But, that does not make her wrong.

In a typical demonstration, she, or one of her assistants will hold up a few
different objects that are all the same color and ask "what same?" to which
alex will respond "color" and, if asked, tell what the color is.
Or, several geometric shapes of the same color might be held up and Alex
asked "what different?" to which he would respond "shape."

I think the "clever hans" model, mentioned by R. Snell,
has not yet been ruled out.  Remarkably subtle cues can be noticed by animals.
In the "Hans" case, it was discovered when the researchers realised that
the horse would not perform when his master was not in the room.
Presumably, Hans watched his master and stamped his foot until the trainer
reacted in some consistant way which hans had learned meant "stop stamping."
He would do this no matter who asked the questions.
But, with the master out of the room, there were no cues given.
Does anyone know if Alex the parrot will respond the same way for other people
even if Pepperburg (or other trainers) is not present?
To my knowledge, that test has not been done, or at least, not reported.

-tony