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Author Hanggi, E.B.
Title Discrimination learning based on relative size concepts in horses (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 83 Issue 3 Pages 201-213
Keywords Horse; Concept; Size transposition; Generalization; Learning; Training
Abstract This study explored whether or not horses (Equus caballus) could respond to stimuli using a concept based on relative size. In Experiment 1, after learning to respond to the larger of the two stimuli for six sets of two-dimensional (2D) training exemplars, one horse was tested for size transposition that used novel larger and smaller stimuli as well as three-dimensional (3D) objects (5 two-dimensional sets and 5 three-dimensional sets with large, medium, small, and tiny sizes). The horse correctly chose (significantly above chance) the larger of two stimuli regardless of novelty or dimension or combination. In Experiment 2, two additional horses were tested using a subset of the stimuli from Experiment 1. One horse was required to select the larger stimulus--as in Experiment 1--and the other the smaller stimulus. After learning the task, both horses responded correctly to new stimuli and showed size transposition. These results suggest that at least some horses are capable of solving problems based on relative size concepts. Moreover, they are able to generalize across situations that vary from flat, black shapes to objects of different materials and colors including balls, flower pots, and PVC connectors. These findings support earlier research that showed that horses could categorize certain stimuli, and provide new evidence that they are capable of using some form of concept for problem solving. Understanding that horses have more advanced learning abilities than was previously believed should help improve training methods and management.
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 398
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Author Watanabe, S.
Title How animal psychology contributes to animal welfare Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 106 Issue 4 Pages 193-202
Keywords Animal welfare; Anthropomorphism; Animal psychology; Reinforcement; Socially constructed concept
Abstract This article explores the contribution of animal psychology to animal welfare. Since animal welfare includes subjective welfare, it is crucial to know the subjective world of animals. Analysis of the concept of anthropomorphism is particularly important because it is a basic idea of animal ethics. The history of animal psychology, focusing on anthropomorphism and behaviourism, is briefly described, and then measurement of the subjective experience of animals in two ways, namely animal cognition and pleasure or reinforcing effects, is reported. Finally, it is suggested that animal welfare is not a permanently fixed idea, but a socially constructed one that can be changed. To gain widespread agreement about a socially constructed idea, it is important to know in which circumstances ordinary people employ metaphorical extension to an understanding of animal behaviour. In other words, a survey of “folk animal psychology” is important in order to establish a consensus about animal welfare.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2888
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Author Flannery, B.
Title Relational discrimination learning in horses Type Journal Article
Year 1997 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 54 Issue 4 Pages 267-280
Keywords Horses; Shaping; Complex discrimination; Concept formation; Generalization ability; Training
Abstract This series of studies investigated horses' ability to learn the concept of sameness under several different conditions. Before experimentation began, three horses were shaped to touch individually presented stimuli with their muzzles, and then to make two responses to two matching cards from an array of three. A modified version of the identity matching-to-sample (IMTS) procedure was used to present stimuli in a variety of configural arrangements on a barn wall (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2), and on a flat panel mounted to a barn door (Experiment 3). The task in each experiment was to select the two stimulus cards that were the same (either circles or Xs) and to avoid the nonmatching stimulus card (either a star or a square). In Experiment 1, the mean accuracy rate for selecting the matching alternatives was 74%. The horses' accuracy levels reached a mean level of 83% during Experiment 2, in which they received additional trials and an intermittent secondary reinforcement schedule. In Experiment 3, when the stimuli were moved further apart from each other within arrangements and were presented on a novel background, the mean accuracy rate was 73%. These data demonstrate that horses can learn complex discrimination problems involving the concept of sameness, and that they are able to generalize this learning to a novel stimulus presentation situation. These results also suggest that a relational discrimination test may be useful for assessing horses' learning ability and the level of training appropriate for individual horses.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3557
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Author Adachi, I.; Kuwahata, H.; Fujita, K.
Title Dogs recall their owner's face upon hearing the owner's voice Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 17-21
Keywords Cross-modal representation – Natural concepts – Dogs
Abstract Abstract  We tested whether dogs have a cross-modal representation of human individuals. We presented domestic dogs with a photo of either the owner's or a stranger's face on the LCD monitor after playing back a voice of one of those persons. A voice and a face matched in half of the trials (Congruent condition) and mismatched in the other half (Incongruent condition). If our subjects activate visual images of the voice, their expectation would be contradicted in Incongruent condition. It would result in the subjects` longer looking times in Incongruent condition than in Congruent condition. Our subject dogs looked longer at the visual stimulus in Incongruent condition than in Congruent condition. This suggests that dogs actively generate their internal representation of the owner's face when they hear the owner calling them. This is the first demonstration that nonhuman animals do not merely associate auditory and visual stimuli but also actively generate a visual image from auditory information. Furthermore, our subject also looked at the visual stimulus longer in Incongruent condition in which the owner's face followed an unfamiliar person's voice than in Congruent condition in which the owner's face followed the owner's voice. Generating a particular visual image in response to an unfamiliar voice should be difficult, and any expected images from the voice ought to be more obscure or less well defined than that of the owners. However, our subjects looked longer at the owner's face in Incongruent condition than in Congruent condition. This may indicate that dogs may have predicted that it should not be the owner when they heard the unfamiliar person's voice.
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Call Number Admin @ knut @ Serial 4222
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Author Kornblith, H.
Title Knowledge and its Place in Nature Type Book Whole
Year 2002 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords animals; cognitive ethology; conceptual analysis; epistemology; Hilary Kornblith; knowledge; natural kind; naturalistic epistemology; normativity; philosophy
Abstract Argues that conceptual analysis should be rejected in favour of a more naturalistic approach to epistemology. There is a robust natural phenomenon of knowledge; knowledge is a natural kind. An examination of the cognitive ethology literature reveals a category of knowledge that does both causal and explanatory work. It is argued that knowledge in this very sense is what philosophers have been talking about all along. Rival accounts of knowledge that are more demanding—requiring either that certain social conditions be met or that an agent engage in some sort of reflection—are discussed in detail, and it is argued that they are inadequate to the phenomenon. In addition, it is argued that the account of knowledge that emerges from the cognitive ethology literature can provide an explanation of the normative force of epistemic claims.
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Publisher Oxford University Press Place of Publication Oxford Editor
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ISSN ISBN 9780199246311 Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4413
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Author Gabor, V.; Gerken, M.
Title Horses use procedural learning rather than conceptual learning to solve matching to sample Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 126 Issue 3-4 Pages 119-124
Keywords Horses; Concept learning; Visual discrimination; Cognition; Experimental design; Procedural learning
Abstract Research into higher cognitive abilities of the horse may be limited by developing the adequate experimental design. In this study four pony mares between 8 and 19 years old were included. Three of them reached the criterion to be tested in a new design of matching to sample using a black circle and a cross as visual cues attached to an apparatus. The attention was directed to the question of whether the animals are able to concept formation in a given time period or if their decisions depend on other cues or strategies. After familiarization to the testing area and the test procedure, the animals were given 27 sessions of 20 trials each during 14 weeks. While there was no preference for one of the stimuli used, horses showed a significant left sidedness. None of the mares reached the learning criterion of 80% correct answers in one session. However, the ponies showed procedural learning based on correction runs that were given between incorrect decisions, by then selecting the correct stimulus on the other side of the apparatus. This learning type arose in three individuals in session four, six and eleven, respectively. It is concluded that discrimination tasks may be biased by the involvement of unexpected learning strategies, which complicates the interpretation of such tests and may even mask possible conceptualization capabilities.
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ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5157
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Author Gabor, V.; Gerken, M.
Title Cognitive testing in Shetland ponies (Equus caballus) using a computer based learning device Type Conference Article
Year 2012 Publication Proceedings of the 2. International Equine Science Meeting Abbreviated Journal Proc. 2. Int. Equine. Sci. Mtg
Volume in press Issue Pages
Keywords Shetland ponies, Cognitive abilities, Concept learning, Concept of sameness
Abstract Complex housing environments such as group housing with automatic feeding or the close contact to humans in sports make high demands on the learning ability of the horse. These learning processes include not only habituation, sensitization and simpler forms of operant conditioning, but also stimulus generalization and possibly some type of concept learning. Studies concerning cognitive abilities in the horse increased in the last decades, but for optimizing housing conditions and horse training, deeper insight into the learning behaviour of this species is necessary. In the present study we used the advantages of a computer based learning device to train 7 Shetland ponies to solve a matching to sample task. With this more complex type of a discrimination task, animals are trained to recognize two out of three presented stimuli as identical. In a first step animals learned to operate the learning device and in further learning steps to recognize and assign geometric symbols (dot, cross, square, and triangle) presented on a LCD screen that were ‘equal’. Four of the 7 ponies could solve the given task by performing over 80% correct responses in two consecutive sessions (p < 0.001). In the subsequent transfer test with new symbols, we found that the ponies were able to transfer the learned rule. In further experiments it should be clarified whether the good learning performance of the ponies in the present study is indeed based on their capability to form an abstract concept of sameness. The present results indicate that ponies possibly posses higher cognitive abilities than so far known.
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Corporate Author Gabor, V. Thesis
Publisher Xenophon Publishing Place of Publication Wald Editor Krueger, K.
Language (up) Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 978-3-9808134-26 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5537
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Author Paukner, A.; Anderson, J.R.; Fujita, K.
Title Redundant food searches by capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella): a failure of metacognition? Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Animal cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 110-117
Keywords Animals; *Appetitive Behavior; Cebus; *Concept Formation; Female; Male; Pattern Recognition, Visual; *Problem Solving; *Visual Perception
Abstract This study investigated capuchin monkeys' understanding of their own visual search behavior as a means to gather information. Five monkeys were presented with three tubes that could be visually searched to determine the location of a bait. The bait's visibility was experimentally manipulated, and the monkeys' spontaneous visual searches before tube selection were analyzed. In Experiment 1, three monkeys selected the baited tube significantly above chance; however, the monkeys also searched transparent tubes. In Experiment 2, a bent tube in which food was never visible was introduced. When the bent tube was baited, the monkeys failed to deduce the bait location and responded randomly. They also continued to look into the bent tube despite not gaining any pertinent information from it. The capuchin monkeys' behavior contrasts with the efficient employment of visual search behavior reported in humans, apes and macaques. This difference is consistent with species-related variations in metacognitive abilities, although other explanations are also possible.
Address Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK. ap14@stir.ac.uk
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Language (up) English Summary Language Original Title
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:16184375 Approved no
Call Number Admin @ knut @ Serial 15
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Author Moses, S.N.; Villate, C.; Ryan, J.D.
Title An investigation of learning strategy supporting transitive inference performance in humans compared to other species Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Neuropsychologia Abbreviated Journal Neuropsychologia
Volume 44 Issue 8 Pages 1370-1387
Keywords Adult; Analysis of Variance; Association Learning/*physiology; *Cognition; *Concept Formation; Female; Humans; *Logic; Male; Pattern Recognition, Visual/physiology; Photic Stimulation/methods; Reaction Time/physiology
Abstract Generalizations about neural function are often drawn from non-human animal models to human cognition, however, the assumption of cross-species conservation may sometimes be invalid. Humans may use different strategies mediated by alternative structures, or similar structures may operate differently within the context of the human brain. The transitive inference problem, considered a hallmark of logical reasoning, can be solved by non-human species via associative learning rather than logic. We tested whether humans use similar strategies to other species for transitive inference. Results are crucial for evaluating the validity of widely accepted assumptions of similar neural substrates underlying performance in humans and other animals. Here we show that successful transitive inference in humans is unrelated to use of associative learning strategies and is associated with ability to report the hierarchical relationship among stimuli. Our work stipulates that cross-species generalizations must be interpreted cautiously, since performance on the same task may be mediated by different strategies and/or neural systems.
Address Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Canada. smoses@rotman-baycrest.on.ca
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Language (up) English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0028-3932 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16503340 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 153
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Author de Waal, F.B.M.; Dindo, M.; Freeman, C.A.; Hall, M.J.
Title The monkey in the mirror: hardly a stranger Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
Volume 102 Issue 32 Pages 11140-11147
Keywords Analysis of Variance; Animals; Cebus/*physiology; *Discrimination (Psychology); Empathy; Female; Male; Observation; *Recognition (Psychology); *Self Concept; Sex Factors
Abstract It is widely assumed that monkeys see a stranger in the mirror, whereas apes and humans recognize themselves. In this study, we question the former assumption by using a detailed comparison of how monkeys respond to mirrors versus live individuals. Eight adult female and six adult male brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) were exposed twice to three conditions: (i) a familiar same-sex partner, (ii) an unfamiliar same-sex partner, and (iii) a mirror. Females showed more eye contact and friendly behavior and fewer signs of anxiety in front of a mirror than they did when exposed to an unfamiliar partner. Males showed greater ambiguity, but they too reacted differently to mirrors and strangers. Discrimination between conditions was immediate, and blind coders were able to tell the difference between monkeys under the three conditions. Capuchins thus seem to recognize their reflection in the mirror as special, and they may not confuse it with an actual conspecific. Possibly, they reach a level of self-other distinction intermediate between seeing their mirror image as other and recognizing it as self.
Address Living Links Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. dewaal@emory.edu
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language (up) English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0027-8424 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16055557 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 164
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