|   | 
Details
   web
Records
Author Allen, C.
Title Assessing animal cognition: ethological and philosophical perspectives Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Journal of Animal Science Abbreviated Journal J. Anim Sci.
Volume 76 Issue 1 Pages 42-47
Keywords Agriculture; Animal Welfare; Animals; Animals, Domestic/physiology/*psychology; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Cognition/*physiology; *Ethology; *Philosophy; Research
Abstract Developments in the scientific and philosophical study of animal cognition and mentality are of great importance to animal scientists who face continued public scrutiny of the treatment of animals in research and agriculture. Because beliefs about animal minds, animal cognition, and animal consciousness underlie many people's views about the ethical treatment of nonhuman animals, it has become increasingly difficult for animal scientists to avoid these issues. Animal scientists may learn from ethologists who study animal cognition and mentality from an evolutionary and comparative perspective and who are at the forefront of the development of naturalistic and laboratory techniques of observation and experimentation that are capable of revealing the cognitive and mental properties of nonhuman animals. Despite growing acceptance of the ethological study of animal cognition, there are critics who dispute the scientific validity of the field, especially when the topic is animal consciousness. Here, a proper understanding of developments in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of science can help to place cognitive studies on a firm methodological and philosophical foundation. Ultimately, this is an interdisciplinary task, involving scientists and philosophers. Animal scientists are well-positioned to contribute to the study of animal cognition because they typically have access to a large pool of potential research subjects whose habitats are more controlled than in most field studies while being more natural than most laboratory psychology experiments. Despite some formidable questions remaining for analysis, the prospects for progress in assessing animal cognition are bright.
Address Department of Philosophy, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843-4237, 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 (up) 0021-8812 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:9464883 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2750
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Duncan, I.J.; Petherick, J.C.
Title The implications of cognitive processes for animal welfare Type Journal Article
Year 1991 Publication Journal of Animal Science Abbreviated Journal J. Anim Sci.
Volume 69 Issue 12 Pages 5017-5022
Keywords *Animal Welfare; Animals; Animals, Domestic/*psychology; *Cognition
Abstract In general, codes that have been designed to safeguard the welfare of animals emphasize the importance of providing an environment that will ensure good health and a normal physiological and physical state, that is, they emphasize the animals' physical needs. If mental needs are mentioned, they are always relegated to secondary importance. The argument is put forward here that animal welfare is dependent solely on the cognitive needs of the animals concerned. In general, if these cognitive needs are met, they will protect the animals' physical needs. It is contended that in the few cases in which they do not safeguard the physical needs, it does not matter from a welfare point of view. The human example is given of being ill. It is argued that welfare is only adversely affected when a person feels ill, knows that he or she is ill, or even thinks that he or she is ill, all of which processes are cognitive ones. The implications for welfare of animals possessing certain cognitive abilities are discussed. For example, the extent to which animals are aware of their internal state while performing behavior known to be indicative of so-called states of suffering, such as fear, frustration, and pain, will determine how much they are actually suffering. With careful experimentation it may be possible to determine how negative they feel these states to be. Similarly, the extent to which animals think about items or events absent from their immediate environment will determine how frustrated they are in the absence of the real item or event but in the presence of the cognitive representation.
Address University of Guelph, Canada
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 (up) 0021-8812 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:1808195 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2753
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Curtis, S.E.; Stricklin, W.R.
Title The importance of animal cognition in agricultural animal production systems: an overview Type Journal Article
Year 1991 Publication Journal of Animal Science Abbreviated Journal J. Anim Sci.
Volume 69 Issue 12 Pages 5001-5007
Keywords *Agriculture; Animal Population Groups/*psychology; *Animal Welfare; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Cognition; Heat; Helplessness, Learned; Housing, Animal/standards; Immobilization; Nesting Behavior; Pain/psychology/veterinary
Abstract To describe and then fulfill agricultural animals' needs, we must learn more about their fundamental psychological and behavioral processes. How does this animal feel? Is that animal suffering? Will we ever be able to know these things? Scientists specializing in animal cognition say that there are numerous problems but that they can be overcome. Recognition by scientists of the notion of animal awareness has been increasing in recent years, because of the work of Griffin and others. Feeling, thinking, remembering, and imagining are cognitive processes that are factors in the economic and humane production of agricultural animals. It has been observed that the animal welfare debate depends on two controversial questions: Do animals have subjective feelings? If they do, can we find indicators that reveal them? Here, indirect behavioral analysis approaches must be taken. Moreover, the linear additivity of several stressor effects on a variety of animal traits suggests that some single phenomenon is acting as a “clearinghouse” for many or all of the stresses acting on an animal at any given time, and this phenomenon might be psychological stress. Specific situations animals may encounter in agricultural production settings are discussed with respect to the animals' subjective feelings.
Address University of Illinois, Urbana 61801
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 (up) 0021-8812 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:1808193 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2754
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Rubin, L.; Oppegard, C.; Hindz, H.F.
Title The effect of varying the temporal distribution of conditioning trials on equine learning behavior Type Journal Article
Year 1980 Publication Journal of Animal Science Abbreviated Journal J. Anim Sci.
Volume 50 Issue 6 Pages 1184-1187
Keywords Animals; Conditioning (Psychology); *Horses; *Learning
Abstract Two experiments were conducted to study the effect of varying the temporal distrbution of conditioning sessions on equine learning behavior. In the first experiment, 15 ponies were trained to clear a small hurdle in response to a buzzer in order to avoid a mild electric shock. Three treatments were used. One group received 10 learning trials daily, seven times a week; one group was trained in the same fashion two times a week and one group was trained once a week. The animals conditioned only once a week achieved a high level of performance in significantly fewer sessions than the ones conditioned seven times a week, although elapsed time from start of training to completion was two to three times greater for the former group. The twice-a-week group learned at an intermediate rate. In the second experiment, the ponies were rearranged into three new groups. They were taught to move backward a specific distance in response to a visual cue in order to avoid an electric shock. Again, one group was trained seven times a week, one group was trained two times and one group was trained once a week. As in the first experiment, the animals trained once a week achieved the learning criteria in significantly fewer sessions than those trained seven times a week, but, as in trial 1, elapsed time from start to finish was greater for them. The two times-a-week group learned at a rate in-between the rates of the other two groups.
Address
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 (up) 0021-8812 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:7400060 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3558
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Heird, J.C.; Lennon, A.M.; Bell, R.W.
Title Effects of early experience on the learning ability of yearling horses Type Journal Article
Year 1981 Publication Journal of Animal Science Abbreviated Journal J. Anim Sci.
Volume 53 Issue 5 Pages 1204-1209
Keywords Animals; Conditioning (Psychology); Female; *Handling (Psychology); Horses/*physiology; *Learning
Abstract Twenty-four yearling Quarter Horse fillies were divided into three groups (I) very limited handling, (II) intermediate handling and (III) extensive handling. At about 14 months of age, each horse was preconditioned for 2 weeks and then run in a simple place-learning T-maze test in which it had to locate its feed. Thirty trials were run daily for 20 days, with the location of the feed changed each day. To retire from the maze, a horse had to meet the criterion: 11 correct responses in 12 tries, with the last eight being consecutive. Horses in Group II required the fewest trials to reach criterion. These horses also learned more and had the highest percentage of correct responses (P less than .05). Mean trainability tended to predict learning ability; however, trainability and trials to criterion were not significantly correlated. Mean emotionality scores indicated a tendency for horses in the intermediately handled group to be less emotional than those in Group I or III. Results indicated that horses with an intermediate amount of handling scored higher on an intermediate test of learning. All handled horses scored higher on learning tests than those not handled.
Address
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 (up) 0021-8812 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:7319966 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3577
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Ferguson, D.L.; Rosales-Ruiz, J.
Title Loading the problem loader: the effects of target training and shaping on trailer-loading behavior of horses Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis Abbreviated Journal J Appl Behav Anal
Volume 34 Issue 4 Pages 409-423
Keywords Animals; *Conditioning, Operant; *Escape Reaction; Female; Horses/*psychology; Reinforcement (Psychology); *Transportation
Abstract The purpose of this study was to develop an effective method for trailer loading horses based on principles of positive reinforcement. Target training and shaping were used to teach trailer-loading behavior to 5 quarter horse mares in a natural setting. All 5 had been trailer loaded before through the use of aversive stimulation. Successive approximations to loading and inappropriate behaviors were the dependent variables. After training a horse to approach a target, the target was moved to various locations inside the trailer. Horses started training on the left side of a two-horse trailer. After a horse was loading on the left side, she was moved to the right side, then to loading half on the right and half on the left. A limited-hold procedure and the presence of a companion horse seemed to facilitate training for 1 horse. Inappropriate behaviors fell to zero immediately after target training, and all the horses successfully completed the shaping sequence. Finally, these effects were observed to generalize to novel conditions (a different trainer and a different trailer).
Address University of North Texas, Denton 76203, 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 (up) 0021-8855 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:11800182 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 1915
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Shettleworth, S.J.
Title Stimulus relevance in the control of drinking and conditioned fear responses in domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) Type Journal Article
Year 1972 Publication Journal of comparative and physiological psychology Abbreviated Journal J Comp Physiol Psychol
Volume 80 Issue 2 Pages 175-198
Keywords Acoustic Stimulation; Animals; Auditory Perception; Chickens; *Conditioning (Psychology); Conditioning, Classical; Discrimination Learning; *Drinking Behavior; Electroshock; *Fear; *Light; Motor Activity; Photic Stimulation; Punishment; Quinine; *Sound; Taste; Visual Perception
Abstract
Address
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 (up) 0021-9940 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:5047826 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 390
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Harlow, H.F.
Title Learning and satiation of response in intrinsically motivated complex puzzle performance by monkeys Type Journal Article
Year 1950 Publication Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology Abbreviated Journal J Comp Physiol Psychol
Volume 43 Issue 4 Pages 289-294
Keywords Animals; *Haplorhini; *Learning; *Motivation; *Psychology; *Satiation; *Learning; *Motivation; *Psychology
Abstract Two rhesus monkeys, given 60 two-hour sessions with a six-device mechanical puzzle showed clear evidence of learning, the curve showing ratio of incorrect to correct responses appearing quite comparable to similar curves obtained during externally rewarded situations. When, on the thirteenth day of tests, the subjects were presented with the puzzle 100 times at 6-minute intervals, the number of devices manipulated decreased regularly throughout the day, although there was no significant change in the number of times the problem assembly was attacked.
Address
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 (up) 0021-9940 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15436888 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6550
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Birch, H.G.
Title The relation of previous experience to insightful problem-solving Type Journal Article
Year 1945 Publication Journal of Comparative Psychology Abbreviated Journal J Comp Psychol
Volume 38 Issue Pages 367-383
Keywords Humans; *Problem Solving; *Psychology, Comparative; *PSYCHOLOGY/comparative
Abstract
Address
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 (up) 0021-9940 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:21010765 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6554
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zentall, T.R.; Riley, D.A.
Title Selective attention in animal discrimination learning Type Journal Article
Year 2000 Publication The Journal of general psychology Abbreviated Journal J Gen Psychol
Volume 127 Issue 1 Pages 45-66
Keywords Animals; Attention/*physiology; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Conditioning (Psychology)/physiology; Cues; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Generalization, Response; Rats
Abstract The traditional approach to the study of selective attention in animal discrimination learning has been to ask if animals are capable of the central selective processing of stimuli, such that certain aspects of the discriminative stimuli are partially or wholly ignored while their relationships to each other, or other relevant stimuli, are processed. A notable characteristic of this research has been that procedures involve the acquisition of discriminations, and the issue of concern is whether learning is selectively determined by the stimulus dimension defined by the discriminative stimuli. Although there is support for this kind of selective attention, in many cases, simpler nonattentional accounts are sufficient to explain the results. An alternative approach involves procedures more similar to those used in human information-processing research. When selective attention is studied in humans, it generally involves the steady state performance of tasks for which there is limited time allowed for stimulus input and a relatively large amount of relevant information to be processed; thus, attention must be selective or divided. When this approach is applied to animals and alternative accounts have been ruled out, stronger evidence for selective or divided attention in animals has been found. Similar processes are thought to be involved when animals search more natural environments for targets. Finally, an attempt is made to distinguish these top-down attentional processes from more automatic preattentional processes that have been studied in humans and other animals.
Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506, USA. Zentall@pop.uky.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 (up) 0022-1309 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:10695951 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 250
Permanent link to this record