Records |
Author |
Henderson, J.; Hurly, T.A.; Healy, S.D. |
Title |
Spatial relational learning in rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
201-205 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; *Birds; *Concept Formation; Flowers; Form Perception; Male; *Orientation; Reward; Size Perception; *Space Perception; Spatial Behavior |
Abstract |
There is increasing evidence that animals can learn abstract spatial relationships, and successfully transfer this knowledge to novel situations. In this study, rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) were trained to feed from either the lower or the higher of two flowers. When presented with a test pair of flowers, one of which was at a novel height, they chose the flower in the appropriate spatial position rather than the flower at the correct height. This response may also have been influenced by a preference for taller flowers as acquisition of the task during experimental training occurred more readily when the reward flower was the taller of the pair. Thus, it appears that although learning abstract relationships may be a general phenomenon across contexts, and perhaps across species, the ease with which they are learned and the context in which they are subsequently used may not be the same. |
Address |
Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, UK |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16767469 |
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Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2465 |
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Author |
Gácsi, M.; Kara, E.; Belényi, B.; Topál, J.; Miklósi, Á. |
Title |
The effect of development and individual differences in pointing comprehension of dogs |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
12 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
471-479 |
Keywords |
Age Factors; Analysis of Variance; Animals; *Association Learning; Attention; Chi-Square Distribution; Choice Behavior; *Comprehension; *Concept Formation; Dogs/*psychology; Female; *Gestures; Humans; Male; Orientation; Statistics, Nonparametric |
Abstract |
In spite of the rather different procedures actually used in comparative studies to test the ability of different species to rely on the human pointing gesture, there is no debate on the high performance of dogs in such tasks. Very little is known, however, on the course through which they acquire this ability or the probable factors influencing the process. Important developmental questions have remained unsolved and also some methodological concerns should be addressed before we can convincingly argue for one interpretation or another. In this study we tested 180 dogs of different age (from 2 months to adults) to investigate their performance in the human distal momentary pointing gesture. The results, analyzed at both the group and the individual levels, showed no difference in the performance according to age, indicating that in dogs the comprehension of the human pointing may require only very limited and rapid early learning to fully develop. Interestingly, neither the keeping conditions nor the time spent in active interaction with the owner, and not even some special (agility) training for using human visual cues, had significant effect on the success and explained individual differences. The performance of the dogs was rather stable over time: during the 20 trials within a session and even when subsamples of different age were repeatedly tested. Considering that in spite of the general success at the group level, more than half of the dogs were not successful at the individual level, we revealed alternative “decision-making rules” other than following the pointing gesture of the experimenter. |
Address |
Department of Ethology, Eotvos University, Budapest, Hungary. gm.art@t-online.hu |
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1435-9456 |
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PMID:19130102 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4969 |
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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 |
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. |
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Evolutionary Psychology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Biosciences Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK |
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1435-9448 |
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Notes |
PMID:15322943 |
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no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2514 |
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Author |
Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M.; Silk, J.B. |
Title |
The responses of female baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) to anomalous social interactions: evidence for causal reasoning? |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1995 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
Volume |
109 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
134-141 |
Keywords |
Animals; Attention; Auditory Perception; *Awareness; *Concept Formation; *Dominance-Subordination; Fear; Female; Hierarchy, Social; Papio/*psychology; *Social Behavior; Social Environment; Vocalization, Animal |
Abstract |
Baboons' (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) understanding of cause-effect relations in the context of social interactions was examined through use of a playback experiment. Under natural conditions, dominant female baboons often grunt to more subordinate mothers when interacting with their infants. Mothers occasionally respond to these grunts by uttering submissive fear barks. Subjects were played causally inconsistent call sequences in which a lower ranking female apparently grunted to a higher ranking female, and the higher ranking female apparently responded with fear barks. As a control, subjects heard a sequence made causally consistent by the inclusion of grunts from a 3rd female that was dominant to both of the others. Subjects responded significantly more strongly to the causally inconsistent sequences, suggesting that they recognized the factors that cause 1 individual to give submissive vocalizations to another. |
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Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA |
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0735-7036 |
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PMID:7758289 |
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Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
348 |
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Author |
Cleveland, A.; Rocca, A.M.; Wendt, E.L.; Westergaard, G.C. |
Title |
Transport of tools to food sites in tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
7 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
193-198 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; Cebus/*psychology; *Concept Formation; *Feeding Behavior; Female; Male; *Problem Solving |
Abstract |
Tool use and transport represent cognitively important aspects of early hominid evolution, and nonhuman primates are often used as models to examine the cognitive, ecological, morphological and social correlates of these behaviors in order to gain insights into the behavior of our early human ancestors. In 2001, Jalles-Filho et al. found that free-ranging capuchin monkeys failed to transport tools (stones) to food sites (nuts), but transported the foods to the tool sites. This result cast doubt on the usefulness of Cebus to model early human tool-using behavior. In this study, we examined the performance of six captive tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) in a tool transport task. Subjects were provided with the opportunity to transport two different tools to fixed food reward sites when the food reward was visible from the tool site and when the food reward was not visible from the tool site. We found that the subjects quickly and readily transported probing tools to an apparatus baited with syrup, but rarely transported stones to a nut-cracking apparatus. We suggest that the performance of the capuchins here reflects an efficient foraging strategy, in terms of energy return, among wild Cebus monkeys. |
Address |
Alpha Genesis, 95 Castle Hall Road, P.O. Box 557, Yemassee, SC 29945, USA |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:15022055 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2539 |
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