Transitive Inference in Rats: A Test of the Spatial Coding Hypothesis

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Abstract
Rats were trained to discriminate between boxes covered with distinctive odors There were six stimulus odors, labeled A through F, and the problems learned formed the five premises A+B-, B+C-, C+D-, D+E-, and E+F-Combining the premises, the relative values of the stimuli were A > B > C > D > E > F In two experiments, linear arrangement groups learned these premises with Boxes A through F placed in a linear spatial sequence Nonlinear groups had boxes either randomly changed from one position to another (Experiment I) or placed in a circular arrangement (Experiment 2) Tests of transitive inference between the B and D stimult were carried out in an environment different from that in which premise training took place Only the groups trained with a linear arrangement of boxes showed evidence of transitive inference These findings offer support for a spatial coding hypothesis of transitive inference in animals

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