What was the independent variable in the Pepperburg study?

In the Pepperberg study, the independent variable was whether the object was familiar or novel. This variable was crucial because it was manipulated by the researchers to determine its effect on the parrots' ability to classify objects. By varying the familiarity of the objects, the study aimed to investigate how prior exposure impacted the parrots' responses in a learning task. The differentiation between familiar and novel objects allowed researchers to observe changes in behavior and performance in categorization, providing insight into the cognitive abilities of the parrots.

Familiarity was vital for assessing the cognitive process and understanding how parrots engage with their environment and their learning capabilities. Other factors, such as the categories of objects, the age of the parrots, and the type of questions asked, may have played a role in the study but did not serve as the independent variable central to the hypotheses being tested.