Alex (parrot)

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Alex
Born 1976
Died September 6, 2007 (Age:31)
Brandeis University
Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Cause of death Sudden death secondary to atherosclerosis
Known for Intelligent use of language

Alex (1976 – September 6, 2007)[1] was an African Grey Parrot and the subject of a thirty-year (1977–2007) experiment by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg, initially at the University of Arizona and later at Harvard and Brandeis University. Pepperberg bought Alex in a regular pet shop when he was about one year old.[2] The name Alex is an acronym for Avian Learning EXperiment.[3] His successor was Griffin.

Before Pepperberg's work with Alex, it was widely believed in the scientific community that a large primate brain was needed to handle complex problems related to language and understanding and that birds were not intelligent and could only use words by mimicking. However, Alex's accomplishments indicated that birds may be able to reason on a basic level and use words creatively.[4] Pepperberg wrote that Alex's intelligence was on a par with that of dolphins and great apes.[5] She also reported that Alex had the intelligence of a five-year-old human[3] and had not even reached his full potential by the time he died.[6] She said that the bird had the emotional level of a human two-year-old at the time of his death.[7]

Contents

[edit] Background

Pepperberg bought Alex at a regular pet store near O'Hare Airport in Chicago while she was doing research at Purdue University. Alex had his wings clipped when he was young, and therefore was never able to learn to fly.[8]

[edit] Training

Alex's training used a model/rival technique, where the student (Alex) observes trainers interacting. One of the trainers models the desired student behavior, and is seen by the student as a rival for the other trainer's attention. The trainer and model/rival exchange roles so the student can see that the process is interactive. During times when Pepperberg and an assistant were having a conversation and made mistakes, Alex would correct them.[9]

This technique helped Pepperberg succeed with Alex where other scientists had failed in facilitating two-way communication with parrots.[9] In later years, Alex sometimes assumed the role of one of Pepperberg's assistants by acting as the "model" and "rival" in helping to teach a fellow parrot in the lab.[9] Alex sometimes practiced words when he was alone.[10]

[edit] Accomplishments

Pepperberg was conservative in her descriptions of Alex's accomplishments, not claiming that he could use "language" but instead saying that he used a two-way communications code.[11] Listing Alex's accomplishments in 1999, Pepperberg said he could identify 50 different objects and recognize quantities up to six; that he could distinguish seven colors and five shapes, and understand the concepts of "bigger," "smaller," "same," and "different," and that he was learning "over" and "under."[2] Alex passed increasingly more difficult tests measuring whether humans have achieved Piaget's Substage 6 object permanence.[12] Alex showed surprise and anger when confronted with a nonexistent or different object than he had been led to believe was hidden during the tests.[12]

Alex had a vocabulary of about 150 words,[13] but was exceptional in that he appeared to have understanding of what he said. For example, when Alex was shown an object and was asked about its shape, color, or material, he could label it correctly.[11] He could understand that a key was a key no matter what its size or color, and could figure out how the key was different than others.[4] He asked what color he was, and learned "grey" after being told the answer six times.[14]

Alex understood the turn-taking of communication and often the syntax used in language.[10] He called an apple a "banerry," which Pepperberg thought to be a combination of "banana" and "cherry," two fruits he was more familiar with.[14]

Alex could even add, to a limited extent, correctly giving the number of like objects on a tray.[15] Pepperberg said that if he couldn't count, the data could be interpreted as him being able to quickly and accurately estimate the number of something, better than humans can.[15] When he was tired of being tested, he would say “Wanna go back,” meaning he wanted to go back to his cage, and in general, he would request where he wanted to be taken by saying "Wanna go...", protest if he was taken to a different place, and sit quietly when taken to his preferred spot.[14] He was not trained to say where he wanted to go, but picked it up from being asked where he'd like to be taken.[14] If the researcher displayed annoyance, Alex tried to diffuse it with the phrase, “I’m sorry.” If he said “Wanna banana,” but was offered a nut instead, he stared in silence, asked for the banana again, or took the nut and threw it at the researcher or otherwise displayed annoyance, before requesting the item again. When asked questions in the context of research testing, he gave the correct answer approximately 80% of the time.[16]

Once, Alex was given several different colored blocks (two red, three blue and four green - similar to the picture above.) Pepperberg asked him, "What color three?" expecting him to say blue. However, as Alex had been asked this question before, he seemed to have become bored. He answered "five!" This kept occurring until Pepperberg said "Fine, what color five?" Alex replied "none." This suggests that parrots, like children, get bored. Sometimes, Alex purposely answered the questions wrong, despite knowing the correct answer.[15]

Preliminary research also seems to indicate that Alex could carry over the concept of four blue balls of wool on a tray to four notes from a piano. Pepperberg was also training him to recognize the Arabic numeral “4” as “four.” Alex also showed some comprehension of personal pronouns; he used different language when referring to himself or others, indicating a concept of "I" and "you."[17]

In July 2005, Pepperberg reported that Alex understood the concept of zero.[18] If asked the difference between two objects, he also answered that; but if there was no difference between the objects, he said “none", which meant that he understand the concept of nothing or zero.[19] In July 2006, Pepperberg discovered that Alex's perception of optical illusions was similar to human perception.[20]

Pepperberg was training Alex to recognize English phonemes, in the hope that he would conceptually relate an English written word with the spoken word.[21] He could identify sounds made by two-letter combinations such as SH and OR.[21]


Death

Alex died on September 6, 2007.[22] Alex's death came as a complete surprise; the average life span for African grey parrots is fifty years.[6][23] He had appeared healthy the day before but was found dead in the morning.[1] According to a press release issued by the Alex Foundation, "Alex was found to be in good health at his most recent annual physical about two weeks [before his death]. According to the vet who conducted the necropsy, there was no obvious cause of death."[1][3] According to Pepperberg, Alex's loss will not halt the research but will be a large setback.[3] The lab has two other birds, but their skills do not approach Alex's.[3]

On 4 October 2007 The Alex Foundation posted the pathology results: "Alex died quickly. He had a sudden, unexpected catastrophic event associated with arteriosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries"). It was either a fatal arrhythmia, heart attack or stroke, which caused him to die suddenly with no suffering. There was no way to predict his demise. All of his tests, including his cholesterol level and asper levels, came back normal earlier that week. His death could not be connected to his current diet or his age; our veterinarian said that she has seen similar events in young (<10 year old) birds on healthy diets. Most likely, genetics or the same kind of low-level (impossible to detect in birds as yet) inflammatory disease that is related to heart disease in humans was responsible."

Alex's last words to Dr. Pepperberg were: “You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you.” [24]

[edit] Criticisms

 This article's Criticism or Controversy section(s) may mean the article does not present a neutral point of view of the subject. It may be better to integrate the material in those sections into the article as a whole.

Some[who?] in the scientific community are highly skeptical of Pepperberg's findings, pointing to Alex's alleged use of language as operant conditioning.[3] Critics[who?] point to the case of Clever Hans, a horse who could apparently count, but who was actually taking subtle cues from his trainer.[2] An important difference from Clever Hans was that Alex talked to and performed for anyone involved in the project, including complete strangers.[22] In another case, Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee named after Noam Chomsky, was thought to be using language but later shown to have been imitating his teacher.[2] Dr. Herbert Terrace, who had worked with Nim Chimpsky, says he thinks Alex performed by rote rather than using language; he calls Alex's responses "a complex discriminative performance," adding that in every situation, "there is an external stimulus that guides his response."[2][clarification needed]

[edit] Pop culture references

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "The Alex Foundation". 2007-09-10. http://www.alexfoundation.org. Retrieved 2007-09-12. 
  2. ^ a b c d e Smith, Dinitia (October 9, 1999). "A Thinking Bird or Just Another Birdbrain?". New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0E17F73A550C7A8CDDA90994D1494D81&showabstract=1. Retrieved 2007-09-11. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f David Chandler (September 11, 2007) Farewell to a famous parrot: Alex, who could talk and count, dies at 31. Retrieved on September 11, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Scientific American (September 12, 2007), An Interview with Alex, the African Grey Parrot. sciam.com. Retrieved on September 12, 2007.
  5. ^ Irene Pepperberg (1998), Talking with Alex: Logic and speech in parrots. Scientific American Retrieved on September 12, 2007.
  6. ^ a b "Bird Brain Dies After Years of Research". Associated Press via USA Today. September 11, 2007. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-09-11-2054675144_x.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-31. "Alex, a parrot that could count to six, identify colors and even express frustration with repetitive scientific trials, has died after 30 years of helping researchers better understand the avian brain." 
  7. ^ "Alex the Parrot, an Apt Student, Passes Away". National Public Radio. September 10, 2007. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14293868. Retrieved 2009-01-19. 
  8. ^ "A Little Bird Told Me". Seed Magazine. September 12, 2007. http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/a_little_bird_told_me/. Retrieved 2009-11-24. 
  9. ^ a b c Wise, Steven M. (2002). Drawing the Line. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. pp. 94-96. ISBN 0738203408. 
  10. ^ a b Wise, Steven M. (2002). Drawing the Line. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. p. 93. ISBN 0738203408. 
  11. ^ a b Wise, Steven M. (2002). Drawing the Line. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. pp. 90-92. ISBN 0738203408. 
  12. ^ a b Wise, Steven M. (2002). Drawing the Line. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. pp. 101-102. ISBN 0738203408. 
  13. ^ Benedict Carey (September 10, 2007), Alex, a Parrot Who Had a Way With Words, Dies. New York Times. Retrieved on September 11, 2007.
  14. ^ a b c d Wise, Steven M. (2002). Drawing the Line. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. p. 107. ISBN 0738203408. 
  15. ^ a b c Wise, Steven M. (2002). Drawing the Line. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. p. 108. ISBN 0738203408. 
  16. ^ "Ask the Scientists: Irene Pepperberg Q&A". http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/3_ask/archive/qna/3293_pepperberg.html. Retrieved 2007-09-11. 
  17. ^ Wise, Steven M. (2002). Drawing the Line. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. p. 106. ISBN 0738203408. 
  18. ^ "Researchers explore whether parrot has concept of zero". http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/050701_parrotzero1frm.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-11. 
  19. ^ Wise, Steven M. (2002). Drawing the Line. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. p. 104. ISBN 0738203408. 
  20. ^ Irene M. Pepperberg (Jan 2009). "Think Animals Don't Think Like Us? Think Again". Discover magazine. http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/20-think-animals-dont-think-like-us-think-again. Retrieved 2009-01-26. 
  21. ^ a b David Chandler (May 18 1998), This bird talks, counts, and reads - a little. Boston Globe. Retrieved on September 13, 2007.
  22. ^ a b "Alex the African Grey". The Economist. September 20, 2007. http://www.economist.com/obituary/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9828615. Retrieved 2009-01-19. "Science's best known parrot died on September 6th, aged 31" 
  23. ^ Bird brain Alex the parrot dies
  24. ^ "'Alex & Me': The Parrot Who Said 'I Love You'". NPR. August 31, 2009. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112405883. Retrieved 2009-11-06. "When Alex died in September 2007, his last words to Pepperberg were "You be good. I love you."" 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(parrot)"