OBJECT AND SPATIAL REPRESENTATIONS IN DETOUR PROBLEMS BY CHICKS

Two-day-old chicks, Gallus gallus domesticus, were tested in a detour situation requiring them to abandon a clear view of a desired goal (a small red object on which they had been imprinted) in order to achieve that goal. The chicks were placed in a dosed corridor, at one end of which was a barrier with a small window through which the goal was vis ible. Two symmetrical apertures placed midline to the corridor allowed the chicks to adopt routes passing around the barrier. After entering the apertures, chicks showed searching behaviour for the goal and app eared able to localize it, turning either right or left depending on t heir previous direction of turn. Thus, in the absence of any local ori enting cues emanating from the goal, chicks were aware of the existenc e of an object that was no longer visible and could represent its spat ial localization in egocentric coordinates.