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Author Barnard, C.J.; Luo, N.
Title Acquisition of dominance status affects maze learning in mice Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Behavioural Processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.
Volume 60 Issue 1 Pages 53-59
Keywords Social status; Learning; Radial maze; Mouse
Abstract Learning is likely to be costly and thus subject to trade-off with other components of life history. An obvious prediction, therefore, is that investment in learning, and thus learning performance, will vary with individual life history strategy and the reproductive value of the learning outcome. We tested this idea in the context of social dominance in male laboratory mice, using a simple radial maze paradigm to compare the ability of high- and low-ranking male mice to track changing food location. We tested animals in randomly selected pairs before and after establishing aggressive rank relationships to distinguish intrinsic differences in learning ability from those attributable to acquiring high or low rank. There was no difference in learning between later dominants and subordinates prior to establishing rank relationships. After pairing, however, dominants showed a significantly greater percentage of correct responses, with the difference being greatest earlier in a sequence of trials. The percentage of correct responses also increased with the amount of aggression initiated during pairing. The results thus appeared to reflect a state-dependent change in learning associated with the aggressive social relationships formed during pairing.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 2075
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Author Whiten, A.
Title Social complexity and social intelligence Type Conference Article
Year 2000 Publication Novartis Foundation Symposium Abbreviated Journal Novartis Found Symp
Volume 233 Issue Pages 185-96; discussion 196-201
Keywords Animals; Brain/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Humans; *Intelligence/physiology; Learning; Models, Psychological; Primates; *Social Behavior; Social Problems
Abstract When we talk of the 'nature of intelligence', or any other attribute, we may be referring to its essential structure, or to its place in nature, particularly the function it has evolved to serve. Here I examine both, from the perspective of the evolution of intelligence in primates. Over the last 20 years, the Social (or 'Machiavellian') Intelligence Hypothesis has gained empirical support. Its core claim is that the intelligence of primates is primarily an adaptation to the special complexities of primate social life. In addition to this hypothesis about the function of intellect, a secondary claim is that the very structure of intelligence has been moulded to be 'social' in character, an idea that presents a challenge to orthodox views of intelligence as a general-purpose capacity. I shall outline the principal components of social intelligence and the environment of social complexity it engages with. This raises the question of whether domain specificity is an appropriate characterization of social intelligence and its subcomponents, like theory of mind. As a counter-argument to such specificity I consider the hypothesis that great apes exhibit a cluster of advanced cognitive abilities that rest on a shared capacity for second-order mental representation.
Address School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9JU, UK
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1528-2511 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:11276903 Approved no
Call Number Serial 2084
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Author Cambefort, J.P.
Title A comparative study of culturally transmitted patterns of feeding habits in the chacma baboon Papio ursinus and the vervet monkey Cercopithecus aethiops Type Journal Article
Year 1981 Publication Folia Primatologica; International Journal of Primatology Abbreviated Journal Folia Primatol (Basel)
Volume 36 Issue 3-4 Pages 243-263
Keywords Age Factors; Animals; *Cercopithecus; *Cercopithecus aethiops; Culture; *Feeding Behavior; Female; Group Structure; Learning; Male; *Papio; Social Class; Teaching
Abstract Japanese workers have studied social acquisition patterns of new feeding habits in Macaca fuscata which they have termed precultural. The present study investigates the same phenomenon in the chacma baboon and the vervet monkey in their natural habitat. The questions addressed are: (1) How a new feeding habit enters a troop and by which age and sex category, also how it is propagated? (2) When individuals are permitted with a choice between palatable and unpalatable food, can they learn by demonstration only or do they have to pass through a direct learning process? (3) Can the results from the above questions be explained by social parameters such as the social structure of the individual species? It was found that juvenile baboons discover new food and that after the discovery propagation is instantaneous. In vervets discovery is random among the age classes and propagation is slow and takes place through certain 'pivot' individuals. Both species fail to learn about palatability by demonstration but have to go through a direct learning process. This contrasts strongly with the forest baboon Mandrillus sphinx that have been shown to learn by demonstration. Socially, baboon juveniles stay closer to each other than the adults who force them to live at the periphery of the troop. Vervets again forage without precise sub-group formation. The link between social and cultural propagation and social structure is discussed on the basis of these findings.
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0015-5713 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:7319426 Approved no
Call Number Serial 2087
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Author Reader, S.M.; Laland, K.N.
Title Social intelligence, innovation, and enhanced brain size in primates Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
Volume 99 Issue 7 Pages 4436-4441
Keywords Animals; Brain/*anatomy & histology; Evolution; *Intelligence; Learning; Primates/*anatomy & histology/*psychology; Social Behavior
Abstract Despite considerable current interest in the evolution of intelligence, the intuitively appealing notion that brain volume and “intelligence” are linked remains untested. Here, we use ecologically relevant measures of cognitive ability, the reported incidence of behavioral innovation, social learning, and tool use, to show that brain size and cognitive capacity are indeed correlated. A comparative analysis of 533 instances of innovation, 445 observations of social learning, and 607 episodes of tool use established that social learning, innovation, and tool use frequencies are positively correlated with species' relative and absolute “executive” brain volumes, after controlling for phylogeny and research effort. Moreover, innovation and social learning frequencies covary across species, in conflict with the view that there is an evolutionary tradeoff between reliance on individual experience and social cues. These findings provide an empirical link between behavioral innovation, social learning capacities, and brain size in mammals. The ability to learn from others, invent new behaviors, and use tools may have played pivotal roles in primate brain evolution.
Address Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, High Street, Madingley, Cambridge CB3 8AA, United Kingdom
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Language 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:11891325 Approved no
Call Number Serial 2149
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Author Bouchard, J.; Goodyer, W.; Lefebvre, L.
Title Social learning and innovation are positively correlated in pigeons (Columba livia) Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 259-266
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Columbidae/*physiology; *Learning; *Problem Solving
Abstract When animals show both frequent innovation and fast social learning, new behaviours can spread more rapidly through populations and potentially increase rates of natural selection and speciation, as proposed by A.C. Wilson in his behavioural drive hypothesis. Comparative work on primates suggests that more innovative species also show more social learning. In this study, we look at intra-specific variation in innovation and social learning in captive wild-caught pigeons. Performances on an innovative problem-solving task and a social learning task are positively correlated in 42 individuals. The correlation remains significant when the effects of neophobia on the two abilities are removed. Neither sex nor dominance rank are associated with performance on the two tasks. Free-flying flocks of urban pigeons are able to solve the innovative food-finding problem used on captive birds, demonstrating it is within the range of their natural capacities. Taken together with the comparative literature, the positive correlation between innovation and social learning suggests that the two abilities are not traded-off.
Address Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205, Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17205290 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2425
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Author Topál, J.; Byrne, R.W.; Miklósi, Á.; Csányi, V.
Title Reproducing human actions and action sequences: “Do as I Do!” in a dog Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 355-367
Keywords Animals; *Comprehension; Conditioning, Operant; *Discrimination Learning; Dogs/*psychology; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Male; *Serial Learning
Abstract We present evidence that a dog (Philip, a 4-year-old tervueren) was able to use different human actions as samples against which to match his own behaviour. First, Philip was trained to repeat nine human-demonstrated actions on command ('Do it!'). When his performance was markedly over chance in response to demonstration by one person, testing with untrained action sequences and other demonstrators showed some ability to generalise his understanding of copying. In a second study, we presented Philip with a sequence of human actions, again using the 'Do as I do' paradigm. All demonstrated actions had basically the same structure: the owner picked up a bottle from one of six places; transferred it to one of the five other places and then commanded the dog ('Do it!'). We found that Philip duplicated the entire sequence of moving a specific object from one particular place to another more often than expected by chance. Although results point to significant limitations in his imitative abilities, it seems that the dog could have recognized the action sequence, on the basis of observation alone, in terms of the initial state, the means, and the goal. This suggests that dogs might acquire abilities by observation that enhance their success in complex socio-behavioural situations.
Address Comparative Ethology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Pazmany, P. 1/c H-1117, Hungary. kea@t-online.hu
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17024511 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2434
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Author Call, J.
Title Inferences by exclusion in the great apes: the effect of age and species Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 393-403
Keywords Age Factors; Animals; Association Learning; *Cognition; *Concept Formation; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Gorilla gorilla; Hominidae/classification/*psychology; Male; Pan paniscus; Pan troglodytes; Pongo pygmaeus; *Problem Solving; Species Specificity
Abstract This study investigated the ability of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and bonobos to make inferences by exclusion using the procedure pioneered by Premack and Premack (Cognition 50:347-362, 1994) with chimpanzees. Thirty apes were presented with two different food items (banana vs. grape) on a platform and covered with identical containers. One of the items was removed from the container and placed between the two containers so that subjects could see it. After discarding this item, subjects could select between the two containers. In Experiment 1, apes preferentially selected the container that held the item that the experimenter had not discarded, especially if subjects saw the experimenter remove the item from the container (but without seeing the container empty). Experiment 3 in which the food was removed from one of the containers behind a barrier confirmed these results. In contrast, subjects performed at chance levels when a stimulus (colored plastic chip: Exp. 1; food item: Exp. 2 and Exp. 3) designated the item that had been removed. These results indicated that apes made inferences, not just learned to use a discriminative cue to avoid the empty container. Apes perceived and treated the item discarded by the experimenter as if it were the very one that had been hidden under the container. Results suggested a positive relationship between age and inferential ability independent of memory ability but no species differences.
Address Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. call@eva.mpg.de
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:16924458 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2444
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Author Gajdon, G.K.; Fijn, N.; Huber, L.
Title Limited spread of innovation in a wild parrot, the kea (Nestor notabilis) Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 9 Issue 3 Pages 173-181
Keywords Animal Communication; Animals; Diffusion of Innovation; Feeding Behavior; Female; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Male; *Motor Skills; *Parrots; *Problem Solving; Sex Factors; Social Dominance; Social Environment; Statistics, Nonparametric
Abstract In the local population of kea in Mount Cook Village, New Zealand, some keas open the lids of rubbish bins with their bill to obtain food scraps within. We investigated the extent to which this innovation has spread in the local population, and what factors limit the acquisition of bin opening. Only five males of 36 individually recognised birds were observed to have performed successful bin opening. With one exception there were always other keas present, watching successful bin opening. Seventeen additional individuals were seen to have benefitted from lid opening. Their foraging success was less than that of the bin openers. Social status of bin openers did not differ from scrounging males. Among the individuals that were regularly seen at the site of the bins but were not successful in bin opening, social status and the ratio of feeding directly from open bins correlated with the amount of opening attempts. We conclude that scrounging facilitated certain behavioural aspects of bin opening rather than inhibiting them. The fact that only 9% of opening attempts were successful, and the long period of time required to increase efficiency in lid opening shows that mainly individual experience, and to a lesser extent insight and social learning, play key roles in acquisition of the opening technique. The results indicate that the spread of innovative solutions of challenging mechanical problems in animals may be restricted to only a few individuals.
Address Department for Behavior, Neurobiology and Cognition, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria. gyula.gajdon@univie.ac.at
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16568276 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2472
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Author Regolin, L.; Marconato, F.; Vallortigara, G.
Title Hemispheric differences in the recognition of partly occluded objects by newly hatched domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 7 Issue 3 Pages 162-170
Keywords Animals; Discrimination Learning/physiology; Dominance, Cerebral/*physiology; Female; Form Perception/*physiology; Imprinting (Psychology)/*physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology; Photic Stimulation; Random Allocation; Vision, Monocular/*physiology
Abstract Domestic chicks are capable of perceiving as a whole objects partly concealed by occluders (“amodal completion”). In previous studies chicks were imprinted on a certain configuration and at test they were required to choose between two alternative versions of it. Using the same paradigm we now investigated the presence of hemispheric differences in amodal completion by testing newborn chicks with one eye temporarily patched. Separate groups of newly hatched chicks were imprinted binocularly: (1) on a square partly occluded by a superimposed bar, (2) on a whole or (3) on an amputated version of the square. At test, in monocular conditions, each chick was presented with a free choice between a complete and an amputated square. In the crucial condition 1, chicks tested with only their left eye in use chose the complete square (like binocular chicks would do); right-eyed chicks, in contrast, tended to choose the amputated square. Similar results were obtained in another group of chicks imprinted binocularly onto a cross (either occluded or amputated in its central part) and required to choose between a complete or an amputated cross. Left-eyed and binocular chicks chose the complete cross, whereas right-eyed chicks did not choose the amputated cross significantly more often. These findings suggest that neural structures fed by the left eye (mainly located in the right hemisphere) are, in the chick, more inclined to a “global” analysis of visual scenes, whereas those fed by the right eye seem to be more inclined to a “featural” analysis of visual scenes.
Address Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padova, Italy. lucia.regolin@unipd.it
Corporate Author Thesis
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15241654 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2519
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Author Fripp, D.; Owen, C.; Quintana-Rizzo, E.; Shapiro, A.; Buckstaff, K.; Jankowski, K.; Wells, R.; Tyack, P.
Title Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) calves appear to model their signature whistles on the signature whistles of community members Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 8 Issue 1 Pages 17-26
Keywords Acoustic Stimulation; Animals; Dolphins/*psychology; Female; *Imitative Behavior; Individuality; *Learning; *Social Environment; *Vocalization, Animal
Abstract Bottlenose dolphins are unusual among non-human mammals in their ability to learn new sounds. This study investigates the importance of vocal learning in the development of dolphin signature whistles and the influence of social interactions on that process. We used focal animal behavioral follows to observe six calves in Sarasota Bay, Fla., recording their social associations during their first summer, and their signature whistles during their second. The signature whistles of five calves were determined. Using dynamic time warping (DTW) of frequency contours, the calves' signature whistles were compared to the signature whistles of several sets of dolphins: their own associates, the other calves' associates, Tampa Bay dolphins, and captive dolphins. Whistles were considered similar if their DTW similarity score was greater than those of 95% of the whistle comparisons. Association was defined primarily in terms of time within 50 m of the mother/calf pair. On average, there were six dolphins with signature whistles similar to the signature whistles of each of the calves. These were significantly more likely to be Sarasota Bay resident dolphins than non-Sarasota dolphins, and (though not significantly) more likely to be dolphins that were within 50 m of the mother and calf less than 5% of the time. These results suggest that calves may model their signature whistles on the signature whistles of members of their community, possibly community members with whom they associate only rarely.
Address Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA. deborah.fripp@verizon.net
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 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15221637 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2520
Permanent link to this record