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Tomasello, M., Hare, B., & Fogleman, T. (2001). The ontogeny of gaze following in chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, and rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta. Anim. Behav., 61(2), 335–343.
Abstract: Primates follow the gaze direction of conspecifics to outside objects. We followed the ontogeny of this social-cognitive skill for two species: rhesus macaques and chimpanzees. In the first two experiments, using both a cross-sectional and a longitudinal design, we exposed individuals of different ages to a human looking in a specified direction. Rhesus infants first began reliably to follow the direction of this gaze at the end of the early infancy period, at about 5.5 months of age. Chimpanzees did not reliably follow human gaze until 3-4 years; this corresponds to the latter part of the late infancy period for this species. In the third experiment we exposed individuals of the same two species to a human repeatedly looking to the same location (with no special object at that location) to see if subjects would learn to ignore the looks. Only adults of the two species diminished their gaze-following behaviour over trials. This suggests that in the period between infancy and adulthood individuals of both species come to integrate their gaze-following skills with their more general social-cognitive knowledge about other animate beings and their behaviour, and so become able to deploy their gaze-following skills in a more flexible manner.
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B. Agnetta,, B. Hare,, & M. Tomasello,. (2000). Cues to food location that domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) of different ages do and do not use. Anim. Cogn., 3(2), 107–112.
Abstract: Autoren
B. Agnetta, B. Hare, M. Tomasello
Zusammenfassung
The results of three experiments are reported. In the main study, a human experimenter presented domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) with a variety of social cues intended to indicate the location of hidden food. The novel findings of this study were: (1) dogs were able to use successfully several totally novel cues in which they watched a human place a marker in front of the target location; (2) dogs were unable to use the marker by itself with no behavioral cues (suggesting that some form of human behavior directed to the target location was a necessary part of the cue); and (3) there were no significant developments in dogs' skills in these tasks across the age range 4 months to 4 years (arguing against the necessity of extensive learning experiences with humans). In a follow-up study, dogs did not follow human gaze into “empty space” outside of the simulated foraging context. Finally, in a small pilot study, two arctic wolves (Canis lupus) were unable to use human cues to locate hidden food. These results suggest the possibility that domestic dogs have evolved an adaptive specialization for using human-produced directional cues in a goal-directed (especially foraging) context. Exactly how they understand these cues is still an open question.
Schlüsselwörter
Key words Dogs – Arctic wolves – Social cognition – Gaze following – Communication
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Allen, C. (2006). Transitive inference in animals: Reasoning or conditioned associations? In S. Hurley, & M. Nudds (Eds.), Rational Animals? (pp. 175–186). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Abstract: It is widely accepted that many species of nonhuman animals appear to engage in transitive inference,
producing appropriate responses to novel pairings of non-adjacent members of an ordered series
without previous experience of these pairings. Some researchers have taken this capability as
providing direct evidence that these animals reason. Others resist such declarations, favouring instead
explanations in terms of associative conditioning. Associative accounts of transitive inference have
been refined in application to a simple 5-element learning task that is the main paradigm for
laboratory investigations of the phenomenon, but it remains unclear how well those accounts
generalise to more information-rich environments such as social hierarchies which may contain scores
of individuals, and where rapid learning is important. The case of transitive inference is an example of
a more general dispute between proponents of associative accounts and advocates of more cognitive
accounts of animal behaviour. Examination of the specific details of transitive inference suggests
some lessons for the wider debate.
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Weeks, J. W., Crowell-Davis, S. L., & Heusner, G. (2002). Preliminary study of the development of the Flehmen response in Equus caballus. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 78(2-4), 329–335.
Abstract: The flehmen response is commonly seen in most ungulates as well as in several other species (e.g. felids). The behavior is most often thought to be part of the sexual behavioral repertoire of males. One reigning hypothesis suggests that this behavior allows the male to determine the estrous state of a female through the chemosensory functions of the vomeronasal organ. However, females and young of both sexes also exhibit this behavior. Horse foals most frequently show the flehmen response during their first month of life with colts showing the behavior more often than fillies. This study tested the flehmen response on male and female foals throughout their pre-pubertal period. Foals were separately presented estrous and non-estrous urine weekly during the first month of life and then monthly until they were approximately 7 months of age. No significant differences were found between male and female foals for the following variables: latency to flehmen, duration of flehmen, frequency of flehmen and sniffs.
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Ellard, M. - E., & Crowell-Davis, S. L. (1989). Evaluating equine dominance in draft mares. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 24(1), 55–75.
Abstract: The social hierarchy of a herd of 12 draft mares was assessed using agonism in the field, paired-feeding tests and a group-feeding test. Results from the paired-feeding test correlated significantly, but imperfectly, with those from the field. Differential motivation among subjects for the feed and disruption of ambiguous relationships among mares reduced the reliability of the paired-feeding test as a measure of social dominance. Results from the group-feeding test did not correlate significantly with the field hierarchy and only a few mares ever ate from the bucket. Height, weight and age each correlated significantly with rank; a mare's tendency to remain alone did not. Total aggressive scores during the paired-feeding test correlated with rank. However, a high-ranking mare was no more aggressive to each of her subordinates than was a low-ranking mare. Rather, all mares aggressed more against individuals close in rank to themselves and with preferred field associates. In the field, mares associated most with other mares of similar rank.
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Houpt, K. A. (1991). Investigating equine ingestive, maternal, and sexual behavior in the field and in the laboratory. J. Anim Sci., 69(10), 4161–4166.
Abstract: Some of the techniques that may be used to study social, reproductive, and ingestive behavior in horses are described in this paper. One of the aspects of equine social behavior is the dominance hierarchy or patterns of agonistic behavior. Paired or group feeding from a single food source may be used to determine dominance hierarchies quickly. Focal animal studies of undisturbed groups of horses may also be used; this method takes longer, but may reveal affiliative as well as agonistic relationships among the horses. Reproductive behavior includes flehmen, the functional significance of which can be determined using combinations of field observations of harem groups and laboratory studies of stallions exposed to female urine or feces in the absence of the donor mare. Ingestive behavior may include food, salt, or water intake. Direct and indirect measurements of intake can be made and used to answer questions regarding the ability of horses to control their energy intake when the diet is diluted, the effect of feral equids on the ecology of an area, and the abilities of horses to compensate for dehydration and hypovolemia.
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Houpt, K. A., & Keiper, R. (1982). The position of the stallion in the equine dominance hierarchy of feral and domestic ponies. J. Anim Sci, 54(5), 945–950.
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Craig, J. V. (1986). Measuring social behavior: social dominance. J. Anim Sci., 62(4), 1120–1129.
Abstract: Social dominance develops more slowly when young animals are kept in intact peer groups where they need not compete for resources. Learned generalizations may cause smaller and weaker animals to accept subordinate status readily when confronted with strangers that would be formidable opponents. Sexual hormones and sensitivity to them can influence the onset of aggression and status attained. After dominance orders are established, they tend to be stable in female groups but are less so in male groups. Psychological influences can affect dominance relationships when strangers meet and social alliances within groups may affect relative status of individuals. Whether status associated with agonistic behavior is correlated with control of space and scarce resources needs to be determined for each species and each kind of resource. When such correlations exists, competitive tests and agonistic behavior associated with gaining access to scarce resources can be useful to the observer in learning about dominance relationships rapidly. Examples are given to illustrate how estimates of social dominance can be readily attained and some strengths and weaknesses of the various methods.
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Beaver, B. V. (1981). Problems & values associated with dominance. Vet Med Small Anim Clin, 76(8), 1129–1131.
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Mader, D. R., & Price, E. O. (1980). Discrimination learning in horses: effects of breed, age and social dominance. J. Anim Sci., 50(5), 962–965.
Abstract: The discrimination learning ability of Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds was compared by means of visual cues in a three-choice test with food as a reward. Quarter Horses learned significantly faster than Thoroughbreds, and learning progressed more rapidly for both breeds in a second discrimination task. Significant negative correlations were observed between age and rate of learning. Quarter Horses tended to be less reactive than Thoroughbreds, but individual emotional reactivity ratings and learning scores were not correlated. No correlation was found between social dominance and learning scores. Learning studies with horses may provide a better understanding of the behavioral traits that influence trainability in this species.
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