Assessing Object Identity and Material Recognition in an African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus)
Assessing Object Identity and Material Recognition in an African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus)
Apollo sitting on his perch in-between trial sessions
Sarah Litman, Eckerd College, Animal Studies and Psychology Disciplines
Lauren Highfill, Eckerd College, Animal Studies and Psychology Disciplines
African Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus) are known for their cognitive and vocal abilities, including the capacity to identify and communicate information. In this study, Apollo, an African Grey Parrot trained in object labeling tasks, was tested to determine whether he could correctly identify the label or material of familiar objects presented by an unfamiliar trainer. Cognitive trials were conducted in which a primary trainer remained turned away to prevent cueing, while an unfamiliar participant asked a series of randomized questions about the identity, material, or color of a variety of objects. Trials were conducted in a controlled space with minimal distractions. A total of 25 trials were conducted, totaling 400 test questions asked across the trials. Apollo correctly responded to 81.25% of test questions across conditions. The results indicated that he performed above chance level. These results further contribute to past findings regarding symbolic communication and object property recognition in African Grey Parrots. Future studies could look into the frequency in which the answer to the question reflected a different trait of the object than what was asked.
For more information, email selitman@eckerd.edu