| Records |
| Author |
Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Imitation: definitions, evidence, and mechanisms |
Type  |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
335-353 |
| Keywords |
Adaptation, Psychological; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Motivation; *Social Environment; Transfer (Psychology) |
| Abstract |
Imitation can be defined as the copying of behavior. To a biologist, interest in imitation is focused on its adaptive value for the survival of the organism, but to a psychologist, the mechanisms responsible for imitation are the most interesting. For psychologists, the most important cases of imitation are those that involve demonstrated behavior that the imitator cannot see when it performs the behavior (e.g., scratching one's head). Such examples of imitation are sometimes referred to as opaque imitation because they are difficult to account for without positing cognitive mechanisms, such as perspective taking, that most animals have not been acknowledged to have. The present review first identifies various forms of social influence and social learning that do not qualify as opaque imitation, including species-typical mechanisms (e.g., mimicry and contagion), motivational mechanisms (e.g., social facilitation, incentive motivation, transfer of fear), attentional mechanisms (e.g., local enhancement, stimulus enhancement), imprinting, following, observational conditioning, and learning how the environment works (affordance learning). It then presents evidence for different forms of opaque imitation in animals, and identifies characteristics of human imitation that have been proposed to distinguish it from animal imitation. Finally, it examines the role played in opaque imitation by demonstrator reinforcement and observer motivation. Although accounts of imitation have been proposed that vary in their level of analysis from neural to cognitive, at present no theory of imitation appears to be adequate to account for the varied results that have been found. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA. Zentall@uky.edu |
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English |
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| ISSN |
1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17024510 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
217 |
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| Author |
Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Selective and divided attention in animals |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Behavioural processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
| Volume |
69 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
1-15 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Attention; *Behavior, Animal; *Discrimination (Psychology); *Field Dependence-Independence; *Psychological Theory |
| Abstract |
This article reviews some of the research on attentional processes in animals. In the traditional approach to selective attention, it is proposed that in addition to specific response attachments, animals also learn something about the dimension along which the stimuli fall (e.g., hue, brightness, or line orientation). More recently, there has been an attempt to find animal analogs to methodologies originally applied to research with humans. One line of research has been directed to the question of whether animals can locate a target among distracters faster if they are prepared for the presentation of the target (search image and priming). In the study of search image, the target is typically a food item and the cue consists of previous trials on which the same target is presented. In research on priming effects, the cue is typically different from the target but is a good predictor of its occurrence. The study of preattentive processes shows that perceptually, certain stimuli stand out from distracters better than others, depending not only on characteristics of the target relative to the distracters, but also on relations among the distracters. Research on divided attention is examined with the goal of determining whether an animal can process two elements of a compound sample with the same efficiency as one. Taken together, the reviewed research indicates that animals are capable of centrally (not just peripherally) attending to selective aspects of a stimulus display. |
| 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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| ISSN |
0376-6357 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15795066 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
224 |
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| Author |
Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Action imitation in birds |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Learning & behavior : a Psychonomic Society publication |
Abbreviated Journal |
Learn Behav |
| Volume |
32 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
15-23 |
| Keywords |
Adaptation, Psychological; Animals; *Birds; *Imitative Behavior; Imprinting (Psychology); *Learning; Motivation; Psychological Theory; *Social Environment; *Social Facilitation; Vocalization, Animal |
| Abstract |
Action imitation, once thought to be a behavior almost exclusively limited to humans and the great apes, surprisingly also has been found in a number of bird species. Because imitation has been viewed by some psychologists as a form of intelligent behavior, there has been interest in how it is distributed among animal species. Although the mechanisms responsible for action imitation are not clear, we are now at least beginning to understand the conditions under which it occurs. In this article, I try to identify and differentiate the various forms of socially influenced behavior (species-typical social reactions, social effects on motivation, social effects on perception, socially influenced learning, and action imitation) and explain why it is important to differentiate imitation from other forms of social influence. I also examine some of the variables that appear to be involved in the occurrence of imitation. Finally, I speculate about why a number of bird species, but few mammal species, appear to imitate. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, USA. zentall@uky.edu |
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English |
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| ISSN |
1543-4494 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15161137 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
230 |
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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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| ISSN |
0735-7036 |
ISBN |
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Medium |
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| Notes |
PMID:12234078 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
240 |
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| Author |
Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Support for a theory of memory for event duration must distinguish between test-trial ambiguity and actual memory loss |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1999 |
Publication |
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Anal Behav |
| Volume |
72 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
467-472 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Columbidae; Conditioning, Operant/physiology; Discrimination Learning/physiology; Memory/*physiology; *Psychological Theory; Time Factors; Time Perception/physiology |
| Abstract |
Staddon and Higa's (1999) trace-strength theory of timing and memory for event duration can account for pigeons' bias to “choose short” when retention intervals are introduced and to “choose long” when, following training with a fixed retention interval, retention intervals are shortened. However, it does not account for the failure of pigeons to choose short when the intertrial interval is distinct from the retention interval. That finding suggests that stimulus generalization (or ambiguity) between the intertrial interval and the retention interval may result in an effect that has been attributed to memory loss. Such artifacts must be eliminated before a theory of memory for event duration can be adequately tested. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506, USA. zentall@pop.uky.edu |
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English |
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0022-5002 |
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| Notes |
PMID:10605105 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
251 |
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| Author |
Henning, J.M.; Zentall, T.R. |
| Title |
Imitation, social facilitation, and the effects of ACTH 4-10 on rats' bar-pressing behavior |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1981 |
Publication |
The American journal of psychology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Am J Psychol |
| Volume |
94 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
125-134 |
| Keywords |
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/*pharmacology; Animals; Conditioning, Operant/*drug effects; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Extinction, Psychological/drug effects; Imitative Behavior/*drug effects; Male; Peptide Fragments/*pharmacology; Rats; *Social Facilitation |
| Abstract |
The effects of ACTH 4-10 on rats' imitation learning was examined during the acquisition and extinction of a bar-press response for water reinforcement. Rats were exposed to either a bar-pressing conspecific (OB), an experimentally naive conspecific (ON), or an empty box (OE) during bar-press acquisition. In a factorial design, each rat was then exposed to one of the same three conditions during extinction. An 80 mcg dose of ACTH 4-10 was administered to half of the rats in each group prior to observation. Performance differences during acquisition were generally small, but significant performance differences during extinction were found. Social facilitation was indicated by the finding that rats extinguished in the presence of a conspecific exhibited significantly greater resistance to extinction than rats extinguished in the presence of an empty box. An imitation effect was also found. Rats that observed a bar-pressing conspecific during both acquisition and extinction (group OB-OB) showed significantly greater resistance top extinction than did groups OB-ON, CB-OE, or OE-OE. There were no significant effects of the hormone, however, relative to saline controls. |
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English |
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0002-9556 |
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| Notes |
PMID:6263117 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
267 |
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| Author |
Flack, J.C.; Girvan, M.; de Waal, F.B.M.; Krakauer, D.C. |
| Title |
Policing stabilizes construction of social niches in primates |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
439 |
Issue |
7075 |
Pages |
426-429 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Conflict (Psychology); Female; Macaca nemestrina/*physiology/*psychology; Male; Models, Biological; *Social Behavior |
| Abstract |
All organisms interact with their environment, and in doing so shape it, modifying resource availability. Termed niche construction, this process has been studied primarily at the ecological level with an emphasis on the consequences of construction across generations. We focus on the behavioural process of construction within a single generation, identifying the role a robustness mechanism--conflict management--has in promoting interactions that build social resource networks or social niches. Using 'knockout' experiments on a large, captive group of pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina), we show that a policing function, performed infrequently by a small subset of individuals, significantly contributes to maintaining stable resource networks in the face of chronic perturbations that arise through conflict. When policing is absent, social niches destabilize, with group members building smaller, less diverse, and less integrated grooming, play, proximity and contact-sitting networks. Instability is quantified in terms of reduced mean degree, increased clustering, reduced reach, and increased assortativity. Policing not only controls conflict, we find it significantly influences the structure of networks that constitute essential social resources in gregarious primate societies. The structure of such networks plays a critical role in infant survivorship, emergence and spread of cooperative behaviour, social learning and cultural traditions. |
| Address |
Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, USA. jflack@santafe.edu |
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English |
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Edition |
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1476-4687 |
ISBN |
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| Notes |
PMID:16437106 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
298 |
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| Author |
Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L.; Bergman, T.J. |
| Title |
Primate social cognition and the origins of language |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Trends in Cognitive Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Trends. Cognit. Sci. |
| Volume |
9 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
264-266 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Cognition; Humans; *Language; Papio; Psychological Theory; Social Behavior; *Social Perception |
| Abstract |
Are the cognitive mechanisms underlying language unique, or can similar mechanisms be found in other domains? Recent field experiments demonstrate that baboons' knowledge of their companions' social relationships is based on discrete-valued traits (identity, rank, kinship) that are combined to create a representation of social relations that is hierarchically structured, open-ended, rule-governed, and independent of sensory modality. The mechanisms underlying language might have evolved from the social knowledge of our pre-linguistic primate ancestors. |
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Departments of Biology and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. seyfarth@psych.upenn.edu |
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English |
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Edition |
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1364-6613 |
ISBN |
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| Notes |
PMID:15925802 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
343 |
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| Author |
Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L. |
| Title |
Cognitive strategies and the representation of social relations by monkeys |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nebr Symp Motiv |
| Volume |
47 |
Issue |
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Pages |
145-177 |
| Keywords |
Adaptation, Biological; Animals; *Evolution; Family; Female; Haplorhini; Male; Memory; Primates; *Selection (Genetics); *Social Behavior; Social Dominance; *Social Perception |
| Abstract |
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University of Pennsylvania, USA |
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English |
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Edition |
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0146-7875 |
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| Notes |
PMID:11759347 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
345 |
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| Author |
Gentner, T.Q.; Fenn, K.M.; Margoliash, D.; Nusbaum, H.C. |
| Title |
Recursive syntactic pattern learning by songbirds |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
| Volume |
440 |
Issue |
7088 |
Pages |
1204-1207 |
| Keywords |
Acoustic Stimulation; *Animal Communication; Animals; Auditory Perception/*physiology; Humans; *Language; Learning/*physiology; Linguistics; Models, Neurological; Semantics; Starlings/*physiology; Stochastic Processes |
| Abstract |
Humans regularly produce new utterances that are understood by other members of the same language community. Linguistic theories account for this ability through the use of syntactic rules (or generative grammars) that describe the acceptable structure of utterances. The recursive, hierarchical embedding of language units (for example, words or phrases within shorter sentences) that is part of the ability to construct new utterances minimally requires a 'context-free' grammar that is more complex than the 'finite-state' grammars thought sufficient to specify the structure of all non-human communication signals. Recent hypotheses make the central claim that the capacity for syntactic recursion forms the computational core of a uniquely human language faculty. Here we show that European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) accurately recognize acoustic patterns defined by a recursive, self-embedding, context-free grammar. They are also able to classify new patterns defined by the grammar and reliably exclude agrammatical patterns. Thus, the capacity to classify sequences from recursive, centre-embedded grammars is not uniquely human. This finding opens a new range of complex syntactic processing mechanisms to physiological investigation. |
| Address |
Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. tgentner@ucsd.edu |
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1476-4687 |
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| Notes |
PMID:16641998 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
353 |
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