The freedom to choose may be an artifact of a preference for spatial location

Prior research has found that pigeons prefer to have a choice between two or more alternatives than to have no choice. The implication of this finding is that the preference for choice may be an evolved (or learned) predisposition. The purpose of the present experiment was to test the hypothesis that the preference for choice may be an artifact of bias, a preference for a terminal-link spatial location. In the present experiment, we followed the procedure used by Ono (2000) in which all terminal-link choices were followed by a reinforcer 50% of the time and in which the preference to choose would not be differentially reinforced. Three of the pigeons showed a significant initial-link preference to choose, seven pigeons were relatively indifferent between choice and no choice, and one pigeon preferred the initial-link no-choice option. Of the three pigeons that showed a significant initial-link preference to choose, two showed a strong preference for one of the terminal-link spatial locations. Further research on the preference to choose should determine whether the preference to choose is motivated by access to a particular terminal-link location rather than the more cognitive concept of freedom to choose.