Pigeons tend to respond 'at the edge of chaos,' study finds
Why it matters: This research reveals a fundamental aspect of pigeon behavior that could inform our understanding of adaptive flexibility in other species.
- University of Iowa researchers found that pigeons, despite being rewarded for any five-button sequence, decreased their behavioral variety but maintained diverse options.
- Ed Wasserman, professor in Psychological and Brain Sciences, describes this phenomenon as "responding at the edge of chaos," highlighting a built-in variability that prevents pigeons from becoming fully predictable.
- The study extends the concept of the "edge of chaos" beyond evolutionary biology, suggesting it might apply to complex human behaviors like music and art, according to co-author Odysseus Orr.
- The Law of Effect, which posits that rewarded behaviors are repeated and other options winnowed, was partially supported as pigeons favored some sequences, but contradicted by their surprising instability and refusal to fully commit to any single sequence.
University of Iowa researchers discovered that pigeons, when rewarded for pecking five buttons in any order, reduced their sequence variety but never fully committed to a single pattern, a behavior termed "responding at the edge of chaos." This challenges the traditional Law of Effect by demonstrating an inherent variability that keeps the birds from becoming "machinelike" in their responses, suggesting an adaptive flexibility.
