Evidence for the innate basis of the hue dimension in the duckling

Abstract

Different groups of ducklings reared under sodium monochromatic light (589 nanometers) and under white light were trained to discriminate between the stimulus correlated with reinforcement (589 nanometers), and the stimulus correlated with extinction, whole value was either 570 or 610 nanometers. The peaks of subsequently obtained gradients of wavelength generalization of both groups were displaced away from the stimulus correlated with extinction. The peaks of the groups trained not to respond to 570 nanometers were located at 600 nanometers. The peaks of the groups trained not to respond to 610 nanometers were located at 580 nanometers. These results (in agreement with earlier data of Rudolph and Honig, 1972) suggest that ducklings have an innate basis for ordering stimuli of different wavelengths along the hue dimension.