toggle visibility Search & Display Options

Select All    Deselect All
 |   | 
Details
   print
  Records Links
Author Klein, E.D.; Zentall, T.R. doi  openurl
  Title Imitation and affordance learning by pigeons (Columba livia) Type Journal Article
  Year 2003 Publication Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) Abbreviated Journal J Comp Psychol  
  Volume 117 Issue 4 Pages 414-419  
  Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Columbidae; Cues; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Odors; Sound  
  Abstract The bidirectional control procedure was used to determine whether pigeons (Columba livia) would imitate a demonstrator that pushed a sliding screen for food. One group of observers saw a trained demonstrator push a sliding screen door with its beak (imitation group), whereas 2 other groups watched the screen move independently (possibly learning how the environment works) with a conspecific either present (affordance learning with social facilitation) or absent (affordance learning alone). A 4th group could not see the screen being pushed (sound and odor control). Imitation was evidenced by the finding that pigeons that saw a demonstrator push the screen made a higher proportion of matching screen pushes than observers in 2 appropriate control conditions. Further, observers that watched a screen move without a demonstrator present made a significantly higher proportion of matching screen pushes than would be expected by chance. Thus, these pigeons were capable of affordance learning.  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-004, USA  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0735-7036 ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:14717643 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 234  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Akins, C.K.; Klein, E.D.; Zentall, T.R. openurl 
  Title Imitative learning in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) using the bidirectional control procedure Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication Animal learning & behavior Abbreviated Journal Anim Learn Behav  
  Volume 30 Issue 3 Pages 275-281  
  Keywords Animals; Attention; Behavior, Animal; Coturnix; *Discrimination Learning; *Imitative Behavior; Male; Smell  
  Abstract In the bidirectional control procedure, observers are exposed to a conspecific demonstrator responding to a manipulandum in one of two directions (e.g., left vs. right). This procedure controls for socially mediated effects (the mere presence of a conspecific) and stimulus enhancement (attention drawn to a manipulandum by its movement), and it has the added advantage of being symmetrical (the two different responses are similar in topography). Imitative learning is demonstrated when the observers make the response in the direction that they observed it being made. Recently, however, it has been suggested that when such evidence is found with a predominantly olfactory animal, such as the rat, it may result artifactually from odor cues left on one side of the manipulandum by the demonstrator. In the present experiment, we found that Japanese quail, for which odor cues are not likely to play a role, also showed significant correspondence between the direction in which the demonstrator and the observer push a screen to gain access to reward. Furthermore, control quail that observed the screen move, when the movement of the screen was not produced by the demonstrator, did not show similar correspondence between the direction of screen movement observed and that performed by the observer. Thus, with the appropriate control, the bidirectional procedure appears to be useful for studying imitation in avian species.  
  Address University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0044, USA  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0090-4996 ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:12391793 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 239  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Dorrance, B.R.; Zentall, T.R. openurl 
  Title Imitation of conditional discriminations in pigeons (Columba livia) Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) Abbreviated Journal J Comp Psychol  
  Volume 116 Issue 3 Pages 277-285  
  Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Columbidae; Conditioning (Psychology)/*physiology; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Habituation, Psychophysiologic; *Imitative Behavior; Light; Reinforcement (Psychology)  
  Abstract In the present experiments, the 2-action method was used to determine whether pigeons could learn to imitate a conditional discrimination. Demonstrator pigeons (Columba livia) stepped on a treadle in the presence of 1 light and pecked at the treadle in the presence of another light. Demonstration did not seem to affect acquisition of the conditional discrimination (Experiment 1) but did facilitate its reversal of the conditional discrimination (Experiments 2 and 3). The results suggest that pigeons are not only able to learn a specific behavior by observing another pigeon, but they can also learn under which circumstances to perform that behavior. The results have implications for proposed mechanisms of imitation in animals.  
  Address Department of Psychology, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois 61201, USA. psdorrance@augustana.edu  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0735-7036 ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:12234078 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 240  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Dorrance, B.R.; Zentall, T.R. openurl 
  Title Imitative learning in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) depends on the motivational state of the observer quail at the time of observation Type Journal Article
  Year 2001 Publication Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) Abbreviated Journal J Comp Psychol  
  Volume 115 Issue 1 Pages 62-67  
  Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Coturnix; Female; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Male; *Motivation; Reinforcement (Psychology); Time Factors  
  Abstract The 2-action method was used to examine whether imitative learning in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) depends on the motivational state of the observer quail at the time of observation of the demonstrated behavior. Two groups of observers were fed before observation (satiated groups), whereas 2 other groups of observers were deprived of food before observation (hungry groups). Quail were tested either immediately following observation or after a 30-min delay. Results indicated that quail in the hungry groups imitated, whereas those in the satiated groups did not, regardless of whether their test was immediate or delayed. The results suggest that observer quail may not learn (through observation) behavior that leads to a reinforcer for which they are unmotivated at the time of test. In addition, the results show that quail are able to delay the performance of a response acquired through observation (i.e., they show deferred imitation).  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506-0044, USA  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0735-7036 ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:11334220 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 245  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Akins, C.K.; Zentall, T.R. openurl 
  Title Imitative learning in male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) using the two-action method Type Journal Article
  Year 1996 Publication Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) Abbreviated Journal J Comp Psychol  
  Volume 110 Issue 3 Pages 316-320  
  Keywords Animals; Appetitive Behavior; *Attention; *Coturnix; *Imitative Behavior; Male; *Motivation; Transfer (Psychology)  
  Abstract The study of imitative learning in animals has suffered from the presence of a number of confounding motivational and attentional factors (e.g., social facilitation and stimulus enhancement). The two-action method avoids these problems by exposing observers to demonstrators performing a response (e.g., operating a treadle) using 1 of 2 distinctive topographies (e.g., by pecking or by stepping). Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) observers exposed to conspecific demonstrators showed a high correlation between the topography of the response they observed and the response they performed. These data provide strong evidence for the existence of true imitative learning in an active, precocious bird under conditions that control for alternative accounts.  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506-0044, USA  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0735-7036 ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:8858851 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 254  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Horner, V.; Whiten, A. doi  openurl
  Title Causal knowledge and imitation/emulation switching in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens) Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Animal cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 8 Issue 3 Pages 164-181  
  Keywords Animals; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; *Concept Formation; Female; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Male; Pan troglodytes; *Problem Solving; Psychomotor Performance; *Social Environment; Species Specificity  
  Abstract This study explored whether the tendency of chimpanzees and children to use emulation or imitation to solve a tool-using task was a response to the availability of causal information. Young wild-born chimpanzees from an African sanctuary and 3- to 4-year-old children observed a human demonstrator use a tool to retrieve a reward from a puzzle-box. The demonstration involved both causally relevant and irrelevant actions, and the box was presented in each of two conditions: opaque and clear. In the opaque condition, causal information about the effect of the tool inside the box was not available, and hence it was impossible to differentiate between the relevant and irrelevant parts of the demonstration. However, in the clear condition causal information was available, and subjects could potentially determine which actions were necessary. When chimpanzees were presented with the opaque box, they reproduced both the relevant and irrelevant actions, thus imitating the overall structure of the task. When the box was presented in the clear condition they instead ignored the irrelevant actions in favour of a more efficient, emulative technique. These results suggest that emulation is the favoured strategy of chimpanzees when sufficient causal information is available. However, if such information is not available, chimpanzees are prone to employ a more comprehensive copy of an observed action. In contrast to the chimpanzees, children employed imitation to solve the task in both conditions, at the expense of efficiency. We suggest that the difference in performance of chimpanzees and children may be due to a greater susceptibility of children to cultural conventions, perhaps combined with a differential focus on the results, actions and goals of the demonstrator.  
  Address Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JU, UK. vkh1@st-andrews.ac.uk  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15549502 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 732  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Stoinski, T.S.; Whiten, A. doi  openurl
  Title Social learning by orangutans (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus) in a simulated food-processing task Type Journal Article
  Year 2003 Publication Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) Abbreviated Journal J Comp Psychol  
  Volume 117 Issue 3 Pages 272-282  
  Keywords *Animal Communication; Animals; *Feeding Behavior; Female; *Imitative Behavior; Male; Pongo pygmaeus/*psychology; Problem Solving; Psychomotor Performance; Social Environment; Species Specificity; *Transfer (Psychology)  
  Abstract Increasing evidence for behavioral differences between populations of primates has created a resurgence of interest in examining mechanisms of information transfer between individuals. The authors examined the social transmission of information in 15 captive orangutans (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus) using a simulated food-processing task. Experimental subjects were shown 1 of 2 methods for removing a suite of defenses on an “artificial fruit.” Control subjects were given no prior exposure before interacting with the fruit. Observing a model provided a functional advantage in the task, as significantly more experimental than control subjects opened the fruit. Within the experimental groups, the authors found a trend toward differences in the actual behaviors used to remove 1 of the defenses. Results support observations from the wild implying horizontal transfer of information in orangutans and show that a number of social learning processes are likely to be involved in the transfer of knowledge in this species.  
  Address Department of Primate Research, Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30315, USA. tstoinski@zooatlanta.org  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0735-7036 ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:14498803 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 737  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Stoinski, T.S.; Wrate, J.L.; Ure, N.; Whiten, A. openurl 
  Title Imitative learning by captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in a simulated food-processing task Type Journal Article
  Year 2001 Publication Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) Abbreviated Journal J Comp Psychol  
  Volume 115 Issue 3 Pages 272-281  
  Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; *Discrimination Learning; Feeding Behavior/*physiology; Gorilla gorilla; *Imitative Behavior; Social Behavior  
  Abstract Although field studies have suggested the existence of cultural transmission of foraging techniques in primates, identification of transmission mechanisms has remained elusive. To test experimentally for evidence of imitation in the current study, we exposed gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) to an artificial fruit foraging task designed by A. Whiten and D. M. Custance (1996). Gorillas (n=6) watched a human model remove a series of 3 defenses around a fruit. Each of the defenses was removed using 1 of 2 alternative techniques. Subsequent video analysis of gorillas' behavior showed a significant tendency to copy the observed technique on 1 of the individual defenses and the direction of removal on another defense. This is the first statistically reliable evidence of imitation in gorillas. Sequence of defense removal was not replicated. The gorillas' responses were most similar to those of chimpanzees.  
  Address TECHlab, Zoo Atlanta, Georgia 30315, USA. stoinskit@mindspring.com  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0735-7036 ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:11594496 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 738  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Lonsdorf, E.V. doi  openurl
  Title What is the role of mothers in the acquisition of termite-fishing behaviors in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)? Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 9 Issue 1 Pages 36-46  
  Keywords Animals; Animals, Wild; *Behavior, Animal; Cooking and Eating Utensils; Feeding Behavior/*psychology; Female; *Imitative Behavior; Learning; Mothers/*psychology; Motor Skills; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Problem Solving  
  Abstract This paper explores the role of maternal influences on the acquisition of a tool-using task in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in order to build on and complement previous work done in captivity. Young chimpanzees show a long period of offspring dependency on mothers and it is during this period that offspring learn several important skills, especially how to and on what to forage. At Gombe National Park, one skill that is acquired during dependency is termite-fishing, a complex behavior that involves inserting a tool made from the surrounding vegetation into a termite mound and extracting the termites that attack and cling to the tool. All chimpanzees observed at Gombe have acquired the termite-fishing skill by the age of 5.5 years. Since the mother is the primary source of information throughout this time period, I investigated the influence of mothers' individual termite-fishing characteristics on their offsprings' speed of acquisition and proficiency at the skill once acquired. Mother's time spent alone or with maternal family members, which is highly correlated to time spent termite-fishing, was positively correlated to offspring's acquisition of critical elements of the skill. I also investigated the specific types of social interactions that occur between mothers and offspring at the termite mound and found that mothers are highly tolerant to offspring, even when the behavior of the offspring may disrupt the termite-fishing attempt. However, no active facilitation by mothers of offsprings' attempts were observed.  
  Address Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA. elonsdorf@lpzoo.org  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16195914 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2480  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Call, J.; Carpenter, M.; Tomasello, M. doi  openurl
  Title Copying results and copying actions in the process of social learning: chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and human children (Homo sapiens) Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 8 Issue 3 Pages 151-163  
  Keywords Animals; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; *Concept Formation; Female; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Male; Pan troglodytes; *Problem Solving; Psychomotor Performance; Random Allocation; *Social Environment; Species Specificity  
  Abstract There is currently much debate about the nature of social learning in chimpanzees. The main question is whether they can copy others' actions, as opposed to reproducing the environmental effects of these actions using their own preexisting behavioral strategies. In the current study, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and human children (Homo sapiens) were shown different demonstrations of how to open a tube-in both cases by a conspecific. In different experimental conditions, demonstrations consisted of (1) action only (the actions necessary to open the tube without actually opening it); (2) end state only (the open tube, without showing any actions); (3) both of these components (in a full demonstration); or (4) neither of these components (in a baseline condition). In the first three conditions subjects saw one of two different ways that the tube could open (break in middle; caps off ends). Subjects' behavior in each condition was assessed for how often they opened the tube, how often they opened it in the same location as the demonstrator, and how often they copied the demonstrator's actions or style of opening the tube. Whereas chimpanzees reproduced mainly the environmental results of the demonstrations (emulation), human children often reproduced the demonstrator's actions (imitation). Because the procedure used was similar in many ways to the procedure that Meltzoff (Dev Psych 31:1, 1995) used to study the understanding of others' unfulfilled intentions, the implications of these findings with regard to chimpanzees' understanding of others' intentions are also discussed.  
  Address Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. call@eva.mpg.de  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN (down) Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15490290 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2504  
Permanent link to this record
Select All    Deselect All
 |   | 
Details
   print