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Author Osthaus, B.; Lea, S.E.G.; Slater, A.M.
Title Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) fail to show understanding of means-end connections in a string-pulling task Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 8 Issue (up) 1 Pages 37-47
Keywords Animals; *Association Learning; *Cognition; Dogs/*psychology; *Problem Solving
Abstract Domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) were tested in four experiments for their understanding of means-end connections. In each of the experiments, the dogs attempted to retrieve a food treat that could be seen behind a barrier and which was connected, via string, to a within-reach wooden block. In the experiments, either one or two strings were present, but the treat was attached only to one string. Successful retrieval of the treat required the animals to pull the appropriate string (either by pawing or by grasping the wooden block in their jaws) until the treat emerged from under the barrier. The results showed that the dogs were successful if the treat was in a perpendicular line to the barrier, i.e. straight ahead, but not when the string was at an angle: in the latter condition, the typical response was a proximity error in that the dogs pawed or mouthed at a location closest in line to the treat. When two strings that crossed were present, the dogs tended to pull on the wrong string. The combined results from the experiments show that, although dogs can learn to pull on a string to obtain food, they do not spontaneously understand means-end connections involving strings.
Address School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK. b.osthaus@exeter.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 Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15338446 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2513
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Author O'Connell, S.; Dunbar, R.I.M.
Title The perception of causality in chimpanzees (Pan spp.) Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 8 Issue (up) 1 Pages 60-66
Keywords Animals; *Association Learning; Awareness; *Concept Formation; Female; *Habituation, Psychophysiologic; Male; Pan paniscus/*psychology; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Perception
Abstract Chimpanzees (Pan spp.) were tested on a habituation/dishabituation paradigm that was originally developed to test for comprehension of causality in very young human infants. Three versions of the test were used: a food item being moved by a hand, a human pushing another human off a chair to obtain a food item, and a film clip of natural chimpanzee behaviour (capturing and eating a monkey). Chimpanzees exhibited similar results to those obtained with human infants, with significantly elevated levels of looking on the dishabituation trials. Since the level of response was significantly greater on natural/unnatural sequences than on unnatural/natural sequences, we conclude that the chimpanzees were not responding just to novelty but rather to events that infringed their sense of natural causation.
Address Evolutionary Psychology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Biosciences Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, 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 Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15322943 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2514
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Author Blaisdell, A.P.; Cook, R.G.
Title Integration of spatial maps in pigeons Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 8 Issue (up) 1 Pages 7-16
Keywords Animals; Appetitive Behavior/physiology; Association Learning/*physiology; Columbidae/*physiology; Conditioning, Classical/physiology; *Cues; Problem Solving/*physiology; Space Perception/*physiology; Spatial Behavior/physiology
Abstract The integration of spatial maps in pigeons was investigated using a spatial analog to sensory preconditioning. The pigeons were tested in an open-field arena in which they had to locate hidden food among a 4x4 grid of gravel-filled cups. In phase 1, the pigeons were exposed to a consistent spatial relationship (vector) between landmark L (a red L-shaped block of wood), landmark T (a blue T-shaped block of wood) and the hidden food goal. In phase 2, the pigeons were then exposed to landmark T with a different spatial vector to the hidden food goal. Following phase 2, pigeons were tested with trials on which they were presented with only landmark L to examine the potential integration of the phase 1 and 2 vectors via their shared common elements. When these test trials were preceded by phase 1 and phase 2 reminder trials, pigeons searched for the goal most often at a location consistent with their integration of the L-->T phase 1 and T-->phase 2 goal vectors. This result indicates that integration of spatial vectors acquired during phases 1 and 2 allowed the pigeons to compute a novel L-->goal vector. This suggests that spatial maps may be enlarged by successively integrating additional spatial information through the linkage of common elements.
Address Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA. blaisdell@psych.ucla.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 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15221636 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2521
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Author Hinson, R.E.
Title Effects of UCS preexposure on excitatory and inhibitory rabbit eyelid conditioning: an associative effect of conditioned contextual stimuli Type Journal Article
Year 1982 Publication Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process
Volume 8 Issue (up) 1 Pages 49-61
Keywords Animals; Association Learning; Cognition; *Conditioning, Eyelid; *Inhibition (Psychology); Practice (Psychology); Rabbits; Reaction Time
Abstract Preconditioning experience with the unconditional stimulus (UCS) retards subsequent excitatory conditioning. Three experiments demonstrated that this UCS retardation effect is attenuated by associative manipulations of contextual stimuli of the UCS preexposure environment. The UCS retardation effect was reduced by (a) altering contextual stimuli between preexposure and conditioning (Experiment 1), (b) latently inhibiting contextual stimuli prior to UCS preexposure (Experiment 2), and (c) extinguishing contextual stimuli subsequent to UCS preexposure (Experiment 3). Although UCS preexposure retarded excitatory conditioning, the results of Experiment 4 demonstrated that UCS preexposure facilitated inhibitory conditioning. These results indicate that an association between contextual stimuli and the preexposed UCS contributes to the effects of preconditioning UCS experience on subsequent learning.
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 0097-7403 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:7057144 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2787
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Author Rudy, J.W.; Iwens, J.; Best, P.J.
Title Pairing novel exteroceptive cues and illness reduces illness-induced taste aversions Type Journal Article
Year 1977 Publication Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process
Volume 3 Issue (up) 1 Pages 14-25
Keywords Animals; *Association; *Avoidance Learning; Awareness; Conditioning, Operant; *Cues; Drinking Behavior; Environment; Inhibition (Psychology); Lithium/poisoning; Male; Rats; Saccharin/pharmacology; *Taste
Abstract Four experiments are reported that lead to the conclusion that pairing novel exteroceptive stimulation (placement into a black compartment) with a poison (lithium chloride) attenuates the development of an aversion to a taste (saccharin) subsequently paired with the poison. Such an attenuation effect occurs whether the exteroceptive cues are present or absent when the taste-poison pairing is administered. Interpretation and implications of this finding are discussed.
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 0097-7403 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:845542 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2789
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Author Boughner, R.L.; Papini, M.R.
Title Appetitive latent inhibition in rats: preexposure performance does not predict conditioned performance Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Behavioural Processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.
Volume 72 Issue (up) 1 Pages 42-51
Keywords Animals; *Appetitive Behavior; Association Learning; *Conditioning, Classical; *Habituation, Psychophysiologic; Individuality; *Inhibition (Psychology); Male; Motivation; Rats; Rats, Wistar; *Reaction Time
Abstract Nonreinforced preexposure to a conditioned stimulus impairs subsequent conditioning with that stimulus. The goal of these studies was to assess the extent to which acquisition performance could be predicted from preexposure performance using a correlational approach. For both preexposure and autoshaping, four measures of performance were computed, including overall average lever pressing, lever pressing in the initial session, percentage change in lever pressing, and slopes. These measures were correlated in a large sample of rats trained in an autoshaping situation. None of the three measures of autoshaping performance was consistently predicted by any of the three measures of preexposure performance. These results are consistent with the view that latent inhibition is not reducible to long-term habituation.
Address Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University, TX 76129, United States
Corporate Author Thesis
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0376-6357 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16406375 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4147
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Author Sibbald, A.M.; Elston, D.A.; Smith, D.J.F.; Erhard, H.W.
Title A method for assessing the relative sociability of individuals within groups: an example with grazing sheep Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 91 Issue (up) 1-2 Pages 57-73
Keywords Association; Grazing; Nearest neighbour; Sheep; Sociability; Social behaviour
Abstract We describe a method for quantifying relative sociability within a group of animals, which is defined as the tendency to be close to others within the group and based on the identification of nearest neighbours. The method is suitable for groups of animals in which all individuals are visible and identifiable and has application as a tool in other areas of behavioural research. A sociability index (SI) is calculated, which is equivalent to the relative proportion of time that an individual spends as the nearest neighbour of other animals in the group and is scaled to have an expectation of 1.0 under the null hypothesis of random mixing. Associated pairs, which are animals seen as nearest neighbours more often than would be expected by chance, are also identified. The method tests for consistency across a number of independent observation periods, by comparison with values obtained from simulations in which animal identities are randomised between observation periods. An experiment is described in which 8 groups of 7 grazing sheep were each observed for a total of 10, one-hour periods and the identities and distances away of the 3 nearest neighbours of each focal animal recorded at 5-min intervals. Significant within-group differences in SIs were found in four of the groups (P < 0.001). SIs calculated using the nearest neighbour, two nearest neighbours or three nearest neighbours, were generally highly correlated within all groups, with little change in the ranking of animals. There were significant negative correlations between SIs and nearest neighbour distances in five of the groups. It was concluded that there was no advantage in recording more than one neighbour to calculate the SI. Advantages of the SI over other methods for measuring sociability and pair-wise associations are discussed.
Address
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Language Summary Language Original Title
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Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 317
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Author Markman, E.M.; Abelev, M.
Title Word learning in dogs? Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Trends in Cognitive Sciences Abbreviated Journal Trends. Cognit. Sci.
Volume 8 Issue (up) 11 Pages 479-81; discussion 481
Keywords Animals; Association Learning; Dogs; *Learning; *Verbal Learning; *Vocabulary
Abstract In a recent paper, Kaminski, Call and Fischer report pioneering research on word-learning in a dog. In this commentary we suggest ways of distinguishing referential word use from mere association. We question whether the dog is reasoning by exclusion and, if so, compare three explanations – learned heuristics, default assumptions, and pragmatic reasoning – as they apply to children and might apply to dogs. Kaminski et al.'s work clearly raises important questions about the origins and basis of word learning and social cognition.
Address Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Bldg 420, Stanford, CA 94305-2130, 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 1364-6613 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15491899 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 274
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Author Massen, J.; Sterck, E.; de Vos, H.
Title Close social associations in animals and humans: functions and mechanisms of friendship Type
Year 2010 Publication Behaviour Abbreviated Journal
Volume 147 Issue (up) 11 Pages 1379
Keywords Both humans and group-living animals associate and behave affiliatively more with some individuals than others. Human friendship has long been acknowledged, and recently scientists studying animal behaviour have started using the term friendship for close social associates in animals. Yet, while biologists describe friends as social tools to enhance fitness, social scientists describe human friendship as unconditional. We investigate whether these different descriptions reflect true differences in human friendship and animal close social associations or are a by-product of different research approaches: namely social scientists focussing on proximate and biologists on ultimate explanations. We first stress the importance of similar measures to determine close social associations, thereafter examine their ultimate benefits and proximate motivations, and discuss the latest findings on the central-neural regulation of social bonds. We conclude that both human friendship and animal close social associations are ultimately beneficial. On the proximate level, motivations for friendship in humans and for close social associations in animals are not necessarily based on benefits and are often unconditional. Moreover, humans share with many animals a similar physiological basis of sociality. Therefore, biologists and social scientist describe the same phenomenon, and the use of the term friendship for animals seems justified.
Abstract Both humans and group-living animals associate and behave affiliatively more with some individuals than others. Human friendship has long been acknowledged, and recently scientists studying animal behaviour have started using the term friendship for close social associates in animals. Yet, while biologists describe friends as social tools to enhance fitness, social scientists describe human friendship as unconditional. We investigate whether these different descriptions reflect true differences in human friendship and animal close social associations or are a by-product of different research approaches: namely social scientists focussing on proximate and biologists on ultimate explanations. We first stress the importance of similar measures to determine close social associations, thereafter examine their ultimate benefits and proximate motivations, and discuss the latest findings on the central-neural regulation of social bonds. We conclude that both human friendship and animal close social associations are ultimately beneficial. On the proximate level, motivations for friendship in humans and for close social associations in animals are not necessarily based on benefits and are often unconditional. Moreover, humans share with many animals a similar physiological basis of sociality. Therefore, biologists and social scientist describe the same phenomenon, and the use of the term friendship for animals seems justified.
Address
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
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ISSN ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5813
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Author Byrne, R.W.; Bates, L.A.
Title Why are animals cognitive? Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Current Biology : CB Abbreviated Journal Curr Biol
Volume 16 Issue (up) 12 Pages R445-8
Keywords Animals; Arachnida/physiology; *Association Learning; *Behavior, Animal; *Cognition; Cooperative Behavior; Falconiformes/physiology; Pan troglodytes/physiology; Parrots/physiology; Passeriformes/physiology
Abstract
Address Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, Scotland
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 0960-9822 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16781995 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4708
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