The way that learning is assessed can affect the conclusions derived from the research. Pearce, Colwill and Hall (1978) demonstrated this phenomenon when making comparisons between rats’ ability to learn to press a lever and when scratching themselves to attain food. The ability to learn was directly affected by the rats’ ability to learn the relationship between the two events. The strength of the pairing of the stimulus and the response would result in the animal performing the correct response more rapidly and more frequently. An explanation of this could be that the behaviour that an animal finds easier to associate with a reward is in some way related to evolutionary or natural responses. Foree and Lolordo (1973) trained pigeons to attain food and avoid shocks either by pecking or by flapping their wings. Pigeons found it easier to get food by pecking and to avoid shocks by flapping their wings. This is their natural behaviour, which is more or less instinctive to them. This suggests that not only does the environment play an important role in animal learning but evolution determines their behaviour and therefore intelligence. This effect limits research in studying animal learning, as demonstrated in classical and operant conditioning; animals can only be taught in tasks that elicit their natural responses. Furthermore, this does not allow species to be taught behaviours that oppositional, thus we are unable to conclude whether the animal has learned something new or just applied their previous knowledge to the
The way that learning is assessed can affect the conclusions derived from the research. Pearce, Colwill and Hall (1978) demonstrated this phenomenon when making comparisons between rats’ ability to learn to press a lever and when scratching themselves to attain food. The ability to learn was directly affected by the rats’ ability to learn the relationship between the two events. The strength of the pairing of the stimulus and the response would result in the animal performing the correct response more rapidly and more frequently. An explanation of this could be that the behaviour that an animal finds easier to associate with a reward is in some way related to evolutionary or natural responses. Foree and Lolordo (1973) trained pigeons to attain food and avoid shocks either by pecking or by flapping their wings. Pigeons found it easier to get food by pecking and to avoid shocks by flapping their wings. This is their natural behaviour, which is more or less instinctive to them. This suggests that not only does the environment play an important role in animal learning but evolution determines their behaviour and therefore intelligence. This effect limits research in studying animal learning, as demonstrated in classical and operant conditioning; animals can only be taught in tasks that elicit their natural responses. Furthermore, this does not allow species to be taught behaviours that oppositional, thus we are unable to conclude whether the animal has learned something new or just applied their previous knowledge to the