Effects of Competition on Video-Task Performance in Monkeys (Macaca mulatta )

The effects of competition on performance of a video-formatted task were examined in a series of experiments. Two rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta ) were trained to manipulate a joystick to shoot at moving targets on a computer screen. The task was made competitive by requiring both animals to shoot...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of comparative psychology (1983) 1990-06, Vol.104 (2), p.115-121
Main Authors: Washburn, David A, Hopkins, William D, Rumbaugh, Duane M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal
Animal behavior
Animal ethology
Animals
Attention
Behavioral Sciences
Biological and medical sciences
Competition
Competitive Behavior
Computer Games
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Macaca mulatta
Male
Mammalia
Monkeys
Monkeys & apes
Motivation
Motor Performance
Play and Playthings
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychomotor Performance
Reaction Time
Space life sciences
Vertebrata
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The effects of competition on performance of a video-formatted task were examined in a series of experiments. Two rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta ) were trained to manipulate a joystick to shoot at moving targets on a computer screen. The task was made competitive by requiring both animals to shoot at the same target and by rewarding only the animal that hit the target first each trial. The competitive task produced a significant and robust speed-accuracy trade-off in performance. The monkeys hit the target in significantly less time on contested than on uncontested trials. However, they required significantly more shots to hit the target on contested trials in relation to uncontested trials. This effect was unchanged when various schedules of reinforcement were introduced in the uncontested trials. This supports the influence of competition qua competition on performance, a point further bolstered by other findings of behavioral contrast presented here.
ISSN:0735-7036
1939-2087
DOI:10.1037/0735-7036.104.2.115