Retrieval cues and short-term memory in capuchin monkeys.

Abstract

Conducted 2 experiments, each with 3 adult female monkeys, dealing with the relationship between retrieval cues and delayed matching to sample (DMTS) performance. Exp I compared 2-choice and Yes-No DMTS to determine whether delayed matching performance was impeded by reducing the number of differential retrieval cues from 2 to 1. In Exp II, with 3 other Ss, all differential retrieval cues were eliminated by employing a delayed conditional matching task (DCM), which was compared to a corresponding 2-choice DMTS task. Exp I produced only a small, unreliable difference in favor of 2-choice DMTS, while in Exp II delayed matching behavior was equally effective with DCM and DMTS, provided that the conditional discriminations were well learned. Rather than attributing the retention evidenced in delayed matching tasks to underlying storage processes, it is suggested that the results may be an extension of discrimination behavior in which the major discriminative dimensions were temporal in nature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)