Skip to main content
Log in

Colour preferences in the pigeon: A behavioural and psychopharmacological study

  • Published:
Psychopharmacologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ten London pigeons were tested in an operant apparatus, and found to have marked colour preferences, blue being preferred over green, followed by yellow and red. The effects of 2 tranquilizers, diazepam and chlorpromazine, were studied and it was found that diazepam released responding, and chlorpromazine suppressed it. Diazepam also tended to abolish colour preference, whilst chlorpromazine was effective only at the highest dose used (5.00 mg/kg). The implications of these findings, particularly in relation to the design of experiments and to the aversiveness of certain stimuli, are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from $39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Brown, P., Jenkins, J.: Autoshaping of the pigeons key peck. J. exp. Anal. Behav. 11, 1–8 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  • Crankshaw, D. P., Raper, C.: The effect of solvents on the potency of chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, medazepam and nitrazepam. J. Pharmac. Pharmacol. 23, 313–321 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferster, C. B., Skinner, B. F.: Schedules of reinforcement. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts 1957

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, M.: A comparison of alternative tests of significance for the problems of m rankings. Ann. Math. Statist. 11, 86–92 (1940)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hasegawa, Y., Ibuka, N., Iwahara, S.: Effects of chlordiazepoxide upon successive red-green discrimination responses in Japanese monkeys, macaca fuscata. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 30, 89–94 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey, N. K.: Colour and brightness preferences in monkeys. Nature (Lond.) 229, 615–617 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jonckheere, A. R.: A test of significance for the relation between m rankings and k ranked categories. Brit. J. Statist. Psychol. 7, 93–100 (1954)

    Google Scholar 

  • Margules, D. L., Stein, L.: Neuroleptics vs. tranquilizers: evidence from animal studies of mode and site of action. In: Neuro-Psychopharmacology, H. Brill, J. O. Cole, P. Deniker, H. Hippius, and P. B. Bradley, eds., pp. 108–120. Amsterdam: Excerpta Medica Foundation 1967

    Google Scholar 

  • Morse, W. H.: Effect of amobarbital and chlorpromazine on punished behaviour in the pigeon. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 6, 286–294 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulvaney, D. E., Dinsmoor, J. A., Jwaideh, A. R., Hughes, L. H.: Punishment of observing by the negative discriminative stimulus. J. exp. Anal. Behav. 21, 37–44 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, S.: Nonparametric statistics. New York: McGrawHill 1956

    Google Scholar 

  • Terrace, H. S.: Errorless discrimination learning in the pigeon: effects of chlorpromazine and imipramine. Science 140, 318–319 (1963a)

    Google Scholar 

  • Terrace, H. S.: Discrimination learning with and without “errors”. J. exp. Anal. Behav. 6, 1–27 (1963b)

    Google Scholar 

  • Terrace, H. S.: Stimulus control. In: Operant behaviour: Areas of research and application, W. K. Honig, ed., pp. 271–344. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts 1965

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, D. R.: The use of operant conditioning techniques to investigate perceptual processes in animals. In: Animal discrimination learning, R. M. Gilbert and N. S. Sutherland, eds., pp. 1–33. New York: Academic Press 1969

    Google Scholar 

  • Tracy, W. K.: Wavelength generalisation and preference in monotonically reared ducklings. J. exp. Anal. Behav. 13, 163–178 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sahgal, A., Iversen, S.D. Colour preferences in the pigeon: A behavioural and psychopharmacological study. Psychopharmacologia 43, 175–179 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421021

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421021

Key words