Listing Alex's accomplishments in 1999, Pepperberg said he could identify 50 different objects and recognize quantities up to six that he could distinguish seven colors and five shapes, and understand the concepts of "bigger", "smaller", "same", and "different", and that he was learning "over" and "under". Pepperberg did not claim that Alex could use "language", instead saying that he used a two-way communications code. Alex sometimes practiced words when he was alone. In later years, Alex sometimes assumed the role of one of Pepperberg's assistants by acting as the "model" and "rival" in helping to teach a fellow parrot in the lab, as well as correcting their mistakes. This technique helped Pepperberg succeed with Alex where other scientists had failed in facilitating two-way communication with parrots. Upon making a mistake, the trainer is scolded and the object is removed. Trainers sometimes make intentional mistakes so the students can see the consequences of an incorrect identification. Irene Pepperberg said the reward system is crucial, because it is the only way that students can make the direct connection between the object and the label that they have used. When a student (human or parrot) answers a question about an object correctly, they receive that object as a reward instead of a food reward, which is often used in other training techniques. The trainer and rival exchange roles so the student can see that the process is interactive. One of the trainers models the desired student behavior, and is seen by the student as a rival for the other trainer's attention. Training Īlex's training used a model/rival technique, in which the student (Alex) observes trainers interacting. She believes that Alex may have had his wings clipped when he was young, which could have prevented him from learning to fly. Early life Īnimal psychologist Irene Pepperberg bought Alex at a pet store after finishing her PhD in theoretical chemistry, with the intent of studying his cognitive and communicative abilities. She believed that he possessed the emotional level of a two-year-old human at the time of his death. ![]() She also reported that Alex seemed to show the intelligence of a five-year-old human in some respects, and had not reached his full potential by the time he died. Pepperberg wrote that Alex's intelligence was on a level similar to dolphins and great apes. ![]() However, Alex's accomplishments supported the idea that birds may be able to reason on a basic level and use words creatively. īefore Pepperberg's work with Alex, it was widely believed in the scientific community that a large primate brain was needed to handle complex problems related to language and understanding birds were not considered to be intelligent, as their only common use of communication was mimicking and repeating sounds to interact with each other. He was compared to Albert Einstein and at two years old was correctly answering questions made for six-year-olds. ![]() ![]() Alex was an acronym for avian language experiment, or avian learning experiment. In her book "Alex & Me", Pepperberg describes her unique relationship with Alex and how Alex helped her understand animal minds. When Alex was about one year old, Pepperberg bought him at a pet shop. Alex participating in a numerical cognition experimentīrandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.Īlex ( – 6 September 2007) was a grey parrot and the subject of a thirty-year experiment by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg, initially at the University of Arizona and later at Harvard University and Brandeis University.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |