Krasnow Institute > Monday Seminars > Abstracts

In Search of King Solomon's Ring:
Studies on the Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots

Irene Pepperberg
Department of Psychology, Brandeis University
and
MIT School of Architecture & Planning

    For over 25 years, I have used a modeling (M/R) technique to train Grey parrots to use an allospecific code (English speech) referentially; I then use the code to test their cognitive abilities. The oldest bird, Alex, labels over 50 exemplars, 7 colors, 5 shapes, quantities to 6, 3 categories (color, shape, material) and uses "no", "come here", "wanna go X" and "want Y" (X and Y are appropriate location or item labels). He
combines labels to identify, request, comment upon or refuse more than 100 items and alter his environment. He processes queries to judge category, relative size, quantity, presence or absence of similarity/difference in attributes, and show label comprehension. He semantically separates labeling from requesting. He thus exhibits capacities once presumed limited to humans or nonhuman primates.
        Studies on this bird and other Greys show that parrots given training that lacks some aspect of input present in M/R protocols (reference, functionality, social interaction) fail to acquire referential English speech. Other data suggest that the extent of learning also depends on the form of input. Studies on how parrots acquire an allospecific code may elucidate mechanisms of other forms of exceptional learning: learning unlikely in the normal course of development but that can occur under certain conditions.

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