|
Versace, E., Morgante, M., Pulina, G., & Vallortigara, G. (2007). Behavioural lateralization in sheep (Ovis aries). Behav. Brain. Res., 184(1), 72–80.
Abstract: This study investigates behavioural lateralization in sheep and lambs of different ages. A flock was tested in a task in which the animals were facing an obstacle and should avoid it on either the right or left side to rejoin flock-mates (adult sheep) or their mothers (lambs). A bias for avoiding the obstacle on the right side was observed, with lambs apparently being more lateralized than sheep. This right bias was tentatively associated with the left-hemifield laterality in familiar faces recognition which has been documented in this species. Differences between adult sheep and lambs were likely to be due to differences in social reinstatement motivation elicited by different stimuli (flock-mates or mothers) at different ages. Preferential use of the forelegs to step on a wood-board and direction of jaw movement during rumination was also tested in adult animals. No population bias nor individual-level lateralization was observed for use of the forelegs. At the same time, however, there was a large number of animals showing individual-level lateralization for the direction of jaw movement during rumination even though there was no population bias. These findings highlight that within the same species individual- and population-level lateralization can be observed in different tasks. Moreover, the results fit the general hypothesis that population-level asymmetries are more likely to occur in tasks that require social coordination among behaviourally asymmetric individuals.
|
|
|
Veen, P., Jefferson, R., de Smidt, J., & van der Straaten, J. (2009). Grasslands in Europe of high nature value. The Netherlands: Brill.
|
|
|
Van Schaik, C. P., Isler, K., & Burkart, J. M. (2012). Explaining brain size variation: from social to cultural brain. Trends Ecol Evol, 16.
|
|
|
Van Schaik, C. P., & Burkart, J. M. (2011). Social learning and evolution: the cultural intelligence hypothesis. Philos Trans R Soc B, 366.
|
|
|
Van Horik, J., & Emery, N. (2011). Evolution of cognition. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci, 2.
|
|
|
Van Horik, J., Clayton, N., & Emery, N. (2012). Convergent evolution of cognition in Corvids, Apes and other animals. In J. Vonk, & T. Shackelford (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Comparative Evolutionary Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
|
|
|
Van Horik, J., Clayton, N., & Emery, N. Oxford Handbook of Comparative Evolutionary Psychology (J. Vonk, & T. Shackelford, Eds.). New York: Oxford University Press.
|
|
|
van de Waal, E., & Bshary, R. (2011). Social-learning abilities of wild vervet monkeys in a two-step task artificial fruit experiment. Anim Behav, 81.
|
|
|
van de Waal, E., & Bshary, R. (2010). Contact with human facilities appears to enhance technical skills in wild vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops). Folia Primatol, 81.
|
|
|
Valenchon, M., Lévy, F., Moussu, C., & Lansade, L. (2017). Stress affects instrumental learning based on positive or negative reinforcement in interaction with personality in domestic horses. Plos One, 12(5), e0170783.
Abstract: The present study investigated how stress affects instrumental learning performance in horses (Equus caballus) depending on the type of reinforcement. Horses were assigned to four groups (N = 15 per group); each group received training with negative or positive reinforcement in the presence or absence of stressors unrelated to the learning task. The instrumental learning task consisted of the horse entering one of two compartments at the appearance of a visual signal given by the experimenter. In the absence of stressors unrelated to the task, learning performance did not differ between negative and positive reinforcements. The presence of stressors unrelated to the task (exposure to novel and sudden stimuli) impaired learning performance. Interestingly, this learning deficit was smaller when the negative reinforcement was used. The negative reinforcement, considered as a stressor related to the task, could have counterbalanced the impact of the extrinsic stressor by focusing attention toward the learning task. In addition, learning performance appears to differ between certain dimensions of personality depending on the presence of stressors and the type of reinforcement. These results suggest that when negative reinforcement is used (i.e. stressor related to the task), the most fearful horses may be the best performers in the absence of stressors but the worst performers when stressors are present. On the contrary, when positive reinforcement is used, the most fearful horses appear to be consistently the worst performers, with and without exposure to stressors unrelated to the learning task. This study is the first to demonstrate in ungulates that stress affects learning performance differentially according to the type of reinforcement and in interaction with personality. It provides fundamental and applied perspectives in the understanding of the relationships between personality and training abilities.
|
|