| Records |
| Author |
Christensen, J.W.; Ahrendt, L.P.; Lintrup, R.; Gaillard, C.; Palme, R.; Malmkvist, J. |
| Title |
Does learning performance in horses relate to fearfulness, baseline stress hormone, and social rank? |
Type  |
Abstract |
| Year |
2012 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
App Anim Behav Sci |
| Volume |
140 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
44-52 |
| Keywords |
Horse; Learning; Fearfulness; Stress; Reinforcement; Social rank |
| Abstract |
The ability of horses to learn and remember new tasks is fundamentally important for their use by humans. Fearfulness may, however, interfere with learning, because stimuli in the environment can overshadow signals from the rider or handler. In addition, prolonged high levels of stress hormones can affect neurons within the hippocampus; a brain region central to learning and memory. In a series of experiments, we aimed to investigate the link between performance in two learning tests, the baseline level of stress hormones, measured as faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM), fearfulness, and social rank. Twenty-five geldings (2 or 3 years old) pastured in one group were included in the study. The learning tests were performed by professional trainers and included a number of predefined stages during which the horses were gradually trained to perform exercises, using either negative (NR) or positive reinforcement (PR). Each of the learning tests lasted 3 days; 7min/horse/day. The NR test was repeated in a novel environment. Performance, measured as final stage in the training programme, and heart rate (HR) were recorded. Faeces were collected on four separate days where the horses had been undisturbed at pasture for 48h. Social rank was determined through observations of social interactions during feeding. The fear test was a novel object test during which behaviour and HR were recorded. Performance in the NR and PR learning tests did not correlate. In the NR test, there was a significant, negative correlation between performance and HR in the novel environment (rS=-0.66, P<0.001, i.e. nervous horses had reduced performance), whereas there was no such correlation in the home environment (both NR and PR). Behavioural reactions in the fear test correlated significantly with performance in the NR test in the novel environment (e.g. object alertness and final stage: rS=-0.43, P=0.04), suggesting that performance under unfamiliar, stressful conditions may be predicted by behavioural responses in a fear test. There was a negative correlation between social rank and baseline stress hormones (rS=-0.43, P=0.04), i.e. high rank corresponded to low FCM concentrations, whereas neither rank nor FCM correlated with fearfulness or learning performance. We conclude that performance under stressful conditions is affected by activation of the sympathetic nervous system during training and related to behavioural responses in a standardised fear test. Learning performance in the home environment, however, appears unrelated to fearfulness, social rank and baseline FCM levels. |
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| ISSN |
0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ S0168-1591(12)00168-2 |
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5769 |
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| Author |
Christensen, J.W. |
| Title |
Object habituation in horses: Voluntary vs. negatively reinforced approach to frightening stimuli |
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 |
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Pages |
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| Keywords |
Habituation; learning; fearfulness; stress; reinforcement |
| Abstract |
The ability and ease of horses to habituate to frightening stimuli greatly increases safety in the horse-human relationship. Several different techniques have been suggested for habituation training of horses and under certain conditions, preventing animals from avoidance reactions during exposure to frightening stimuli is believed to facilitate habituation. Response prevention does, however, lead to a loss of control, which is a known stress inducer in both animals and humans. This experiment investigated whether horses show increased stress responses when negatively reinforced to approach a mildly frightening stimulus, compared to horses allowed to voluntarily explore the same stimulus. We further investigated whether the prevention of avoidance responses in horses that are negatively reinforced to approach the stimulus, facilitates habituation to the stimulus. Twenty-two 2-3 years old Danish warmblood geldings were included in the study. Half of the horses (NR group) were negatively reinforced (through halter and rope pressure) by a familiar human handler to approach a collection of frightening objects (six open and colourful umbrellas) placed in a semi-circle in a familiar test arena. The other half of the horses were released in the arena and were free to avoid or explore the objects (VOL group). On the next day, all horses were exposed to the objects again without a human to investigate the rate of habituation. Behavioural and heart rate responses were recorded on both days. Data were analysed in a two way repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc analysed via the Holm-Sidak method. In the VOL group, all horses initially chose to avoid the unknown objects, whereas the handler managed to get all horses in the NR group to approach and stand next to the objects within the first 2-min session. As expected, horses in the NR group had a significantly longer duration of alertness (sec, mean ± se: NR: 23 ± 4.1 vs. VOL: 16 ± 4.7, P=0.026) and a higher max HR in the first session (bpm, mean ± se: NR: 106 ± 5.2 vs. VOL: 88 ± 4.4, P=0.004). On the next day, however, the NR horses spent significantly less time investigating the objects (sec, mean ± se: NR: 13 ± 4.1 vs. VOL: 24 ± 6.0, P=0.005) and had a shorter latency to approach a feed container, placed next to the objects (sec, mean ± se: NR: 25 ± 3.9 vs. VOL: 47 ± 16.2, P=0.031), indicating increased habituation. In conclusion, negatively reinforced approach to mildly frightening objects appears to increase stress responses during the initial exposure, but also to facilitate habituation in young horses. |
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Christensen, J.W. |
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| Publisher |
Xenophon Publishing |
Place of Publication |
Wald |
Editor |
Krueger, K. |
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978-3-9808134-26 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
5499 |
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| Author |
Nicol, C.J. |
| Title |
Development, direction, and damage limitation: social learning in domestic fowl |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Learning & behavior : a Psychonomic Society publication |
Abbreviated Journal |
Learn Behav |
| Volume |
32 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
72-81 |
| Keywords |
Adaptation, Psychological; Age Factors; Animals; Behavior, Animal; *Chickens; *Feeding Behavior; *Food Preferences; *Imitative Behavior; Imprinting (Psychology); *Learning; Maternal Behavior; Reinforcement (Psychology); *Social Environment; *Social Facilitation |
| Abstract |
This review highlights two areas of particular interest in the study of social learning in fowl. First, the role of social learning in the development of feeding and foraging behavior in young chicks and older birds is described. The role of the hen as a demonstrator and possible teacher is considered, and the subsequent social influence of brood mates and other companions on food avoidance and food preference learning is discussed. Second, the way in which work on domestic fowl has contributed to an understanding of the importance of directed social learning is examined. The well-characterized hierarchical social organization of small chicken flocks has been used to design studies which demonstrate that the probability of social transmission is strongly influenced by social relationships between birds. The practical implications of understanding the role of social learning in the spread of injurious behaviors in this economically important species are briefly considered. |
| Address |
Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford, Bristol, England. c.j.nicol@bristol.ac.uk |
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English |
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| ISSN |
1543-4494 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15161142 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
75 |
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| Author |
de Waal, F.B.M.; Davis, J.M. |
| Title |
Capuchin cognitive ecology: cooperation based on projected returns |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Neuropsychologia |
Abbreviated Journal |
Neuropsychologia |
| Volume |
41 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
221-228 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Attention; Cebus/*psychology; *Cooperative Behavior; Decision Making; Dominance-Subordination; Female; Male; *Motivation; Reaction Time; Reinforcement Schedule; *Social Behavior |
| Abstract |
Stable cooperation requires that each party's pay-offs exceed those available through individual action. The present experimental study on brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) investigated if decisions about cooperation are (a) guided by the amount of competition expected to follow the cooperation, and (b) made instantaneously or only after a period of familiarization. Pairs of adult monkeys were presented with a mutualistic cooperative task with variable opportunities for resource monopolization (clumped versus dispersed rewards), and partner relationships (kin versus nonkin). After pre-training, each pair of monkeys (N=11) was subjected to six tests, consisting of 15 2 min trials each, with rewards available to both parties. Clumped reward distribution had an immediate negative effect on cooperation: this effect was visible right from the start, and remained visible even if clumped trials alternated with dispersed trials. The drop in cooperation was far more dramatic for nonkin than kin, which was explained by the tendency of dominant nonkin to claim more than half of the rewards under the clumped condition. The immediacy of responses suggests a decision-making process based on predicted outcome of cooperation. Decisions about cooperation thus take into account both the opportunity for and the likelihood of subsequent competition over the spoils. |
| Address |
Living Links, Yerkes Primate Center, Emory University, 954 N. Gatewood Road, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. dewaal@emory.edu |
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English |
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| ISSN |
0028-3932 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12459220 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
182 |
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| Author |
Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Timing, memory for intervals, and memory for untimed stimuli: the role of instructional ambiguity |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Behavioural processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
| Volume |
70 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
209-222 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Attention; Columbidae; *Discrimination Learning; *Memory, Short-Term; Practice (Psychology); Reinforcement Schedule; *Retention (Psychology); *Time Perception |
| Abstract |
Theories of animal timing have had to account for findings that the memory for the duration of a timed interval appears to be dramatically shorted within a short time of its termination. This finding has led to the subjective shortening hypothesis and it has been proposed to account for the poor memory that animals appear to have for the initial portion of a timed interval when a gap is inserted in the to-be-timed signal. It has also been proposed to account for the poor memory for a relatively long interval that has been discriminated from a shorter interval. I suggest here a simpler account in which ambiguity between the gap or retention interval and the intertrial interval results in resetting the clock, rather than forgetting the interval. The ambiguity hypothesis, together with a signal salience mechanism that determines how quickly the clock is reset at the start of the intertrial interval can account for the results of the reported timing experiments that have used the peak procedure. Furthermore, instructional ambiguity rather than memory loss may account for the results of many animal memory experiments that do not involve memory for time. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 202B Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA. zentall@uky.edu |
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English |
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0376-6357 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16095851 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
222 |
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| Author |
Zentall, T.R.; Weaver, J.E.; Clement, T.S. |
| Title |
Pigeons group time intervals according to their relative duration |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Psychonomic bulletin & review |
Abbreviated Journal |
Psychon Bull Rev |
| Volume |
11 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
113-117 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Columbidae; *Discrimination (Psychology); Reinforcement (Psychology); Time Factors; Time Perception |
| Abstract |
In the present research, we asked whether pigeons tended to judge time intervals not only in terms of their absolute value but also relative to a duration from which they must be discriminated (i.e., longer or shorter). Pigeons were trained on two independent temporal discriminations. In one discrimination, sample durations of 2 and 8 sec were associated with, for example, red and green hue comparisons, respectively, and in the other discrimination, sample durations of 4 and 16 sec were associated with vertical and horizontal line comparisons, respectively. If pigeons are trained on a temporal discrimination and tested with intermediate durations, the subjective midpoint typically occurs close to the geometric mean of the two trained values. The 4- and 8-sec values were selected to be the geometric mean of the two values in the other discrimination. When a 4-sec test sample was presented with the comparisons from the 2- and 8-sec discrimination, the pigeons preferred the comparison associated with the shorter sample. Similarly, when an 8-sec test sample was presented with the comparisons from the 4- and 16-sec discrimination, the pigeons preferred the comparison associated with the longer sample. Thus, a relative grouping effect was found. That is, durations that should have produced indifferent choice were influenced by their relative durations (shorter than or longer than the alternative) during training. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0044, USA. zentall@pop.uky.edu |
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English |
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1069-9384 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15116995 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
231 |
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| Author |
Kaiser, D.H.; Zentall, T.R.; Neiman, E. |
| Title |
Timing in pigeons: effects of the similarity between intertrial interval and gap in a timing signal |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
| Volume |
28 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
416-422 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Attention; Columbidae; *Conditioning, Operant; Discrimination Learning; Mental Recall; Probability Learning; *Reinforcement (Psychology); *Reinforcement Schedule; Retention (Psychology); Time Factors; *Time Perception/physiology |
| Abstract |
Previous research suggests that when a fixed interval is interrupted (known as the gap procedure), pigeons tend to reset memory and start timing from 0 after the gap. However, because the ambient conditions of the gap typically have been the same as during the intertrial interval (ITI), ambiguity may have resulted. In the present experiment, the authors found that when ambient conditions during the gap were similar to the ITI, pigeons tended to reset memory, but when ambient conditions during the gap were different from the ITI, pigeons tended to stop timing, retain the duration of the stimulus in memory, and add to that time when the stimulus reappeared. Thus, when the gap was unambiguous, pigeons timed accurately. |
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Department of Psychology, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina 27858, USA. kaiserd@mail.ecu.edu |
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English |
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0097-7403 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12395499 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
238 |
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| Author |
Dorrance, B.R.; Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Imitation of conditional discriminations in pigeons (Columba livia) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
| Volume |
116 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
277-285 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Columbidae; Conditioning (Psychology)/*physiology; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Habituation, Psychophysiologic; *Imitative Behavior; Light; Reinforcement (Psychology) |
| Abstract |
In the present experiments, the 2-action method was used to determine whether pigeons could learn to imitate a conditional discrimination. Demonstrator pigeons (Columba livia) stepped on a treadle in the presence of 1 light and pecked at the treadle in the presence of another light. Demonstration did not seem to affect acquisition of the conditional discrimination (Experiment 1) but did facilitate its reversal of the conditional discrimination (Experiments 2 and 3). The results suggest that pigeons are not only able to learn a specific behavior by observing another pigeon, but they can also learn under which circumstances to perform that behavior. The results have implications for proposed mechanisms of imitation in animals. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois 61201, USA. psdorrance@augustana.edu |
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English |
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Edition |
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0735-7036 |
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| Notes |
PMID:12234078 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
240 |
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| Author |
Clement, T.S.; Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Second-order contrast based on the expectation of effort and reinforcement |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
| Volume |
28 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
64-74 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Columbidae; Discrimination Learning; Random Allocation; *Reinforcement (Psychology) |
| Abstract |
Pigeons prefer signals for reinforcement that require greater effort (or time) to obtain over those that require less effort to obtain (T. S. Clement, J. Feltus, D. H. Kaiser, & T. R. Zentall, 2000). Preference was attributed to contrast (or to the relatively greater improvement in conditions) produced by the appearance of the signal when it was preceded by greater effort. In Experiment 1, the authors of the present study demonstrated that the expectation of greater effort was sufficient to produce such a preference (a second-order contrast effect). In Experiments 2 and 3, low versus high probability of reinforcement was substituted for high versus low effort, respectively, with similar results. In Experiment 3, the authors found that the stimulus preference could be attributed to positive contrast (when the discriminative stimuli represented an improvement in the probability of reinforcement) and perhaps also negative contrast (when the discriminative stimuli represented reduction in the probability of reinforcement). |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0044, USA |
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English |
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0097-7403 |
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| Notes |
PMID:11868235 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
241 |
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| Author |
Zentall, T.R.; Clement, T.S. |
| Title |
Memory mechanisms in pigeons: evidence of base-rate neglect |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
| Volume |
28 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
111-115 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Columbidae; Discrimination Learning; Memory/*physiology; Random Allocation; Reaction Time; Reinforcement (Psychology); Retention (Psychology) |
| Abstract |
In delayed matching to sample, once acquired, pigeons presumably choose comparisons according to their memory for (the strength of) the sample. When memory for the sample is sufficiently weak, comparison choice should depend on the history of reinforcement associated with each of the comparison stimuli. In the present research, pigeons acquired two matching tasks in which Sample S1 was associated with one comparison from each task, C1 and C3, whereas Sample S2 was associated with Comparison C2, and Sample S3 was associated with Comparison C4. As the retention interval increased, the pigeons showed a bias to choose the comparison (C1 or C3) associated with the more frequently occurring sample (S1). Thus, pigeons were sensitive also to the (irrelevant) likelihood that each of the samples was presented. The results suggest that pigeons may allow their reference memory for the overall sample frequency to influence comparison choice, independent of the comparison stimuli present. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0044, USA. zentall@pop.uky.edu |
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English |
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0097-7403 |
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| Notes |
PMID:11868229 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
242 |
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