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Author Mulcahy, N.J.; Call, J.
Title Apes save tools for future use Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Science (New York, N.Y.) Abbreviated Journal Science
Volume (down) 312 Issue 5776 Pages 1038-1040
Keywords Animals; Association Learning; *Cognition; *Evolution; *Mental Processes; *Pan paniscus; Pan troglodytes; *Pongo pygmaeus
Abstract Planning for future needs, not just current ones, is one of the most formidable human cognitive achievements. Whether this skill is a uniquely human adaptation is a controversial issue. In a study we conducted, bonobos and orangutans selected, transported, and saved appropriate tools above baseline levels to use them 1 hour later (experiment 1). Experiment 2 extended these results to a 14-hour delay between collecting and using the tools. Experiment 3 showed that seeing the apparatus during tool selection was not necessary to succeed. These findings suggest that the precursor skills for planning for the future evolved in great apes before 14 million years ago, when all extant great ape species shared a common ancestor.
Address Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
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ISSN 1095-9203 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16709782 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 466
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Author Blaisdell, A.P.; Sawa, K.; Leising, K.J.; Waldmann, M.R.
Title Causal reasoning in rats Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Science (New York, N.Y.) Abbreviated Journal Science
Volume (down) 311 Issue 5763 Pages 1020-1022
Keywords Animals; *Association Learning; Bayes Theorem; *Cognition; Comprehension; Forecasting; Male; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans
Abstract Empirical research with nonhuman primates appears to support the view that causal reasoning is a key cognitive faculty that divides humans from animals. The claim is that animals approximate causal learning using associative processes. The present results cast doubt on that conclusion. Rats made causal inferences in a basic task that taps into core features of causal reasoning without requiring complex physical knowledge. They derived predictions of the outcomes of interventions after passive observational learning of different kinds of causal models. These competencies cannot be explained by current associative theories but are consistent with causal Bayes net theories.
Address Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. blaisdell@psych.ucla.edu
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ISSN 1095-9203 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16484500 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 154
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Author Massen, J.; Sterck, E.; de Vos, H.
Title Close social associations in animals and humans: functions and mechanisms of friendship Type
Year 2010 Publication Behaviour Abbreviated Journal
Volume (down) 147 Issue 11 Pages 1379
Keywords Both humans and group-living animals associate and behave affiliatively more with some individuals than others. Human friendship has long been acknowledged, and recently scientists studying animal behaviour have started using the term friendship for close social associates in animals. Yet, while biologists describe friends as social tools to enhance fitness, social scientists describe human friendship as unconditional. We investigate whether these different descriptions reflect true differences in human friendship and animal close social associations or are a by-product of different research approaches: namely social scientists focussing on proximate and biologists on ultimate explanations. We first stress the importance of similar measures to determine close social associations, thereafter examine their ultimate benefits and proximate motivations, and discuss the latest findings on the central-neural regulation of social bonds. We conclude that both human friendship and animal close social associations are ultimately beneficial. On the proximate level, motivations for friendship in humans and for close social associations in animals are not necessarily based on benefits and are often unconditional. Moreover, humans share with many animals a similar physiological basis of sociality. Therefore, biologists and social scientist describe the same phenomenon, and the use of the term friendship for animals seems justified.
Abstract Both humans and group-living animals associate and behave affiliatively more with some individuals than others. Human friendship has long been acknowledged, and recently scientists studying animal behaviour have started using the term friendship for close social associates in animals. Yet, while biologists describe friends as social tools to enhance fitness, social scientists describe human friendship as unconditional. We investigate whether these different descriptions reflect true differences in human friendship and animal close social associations or are a by-product of different research approaches: namely social scientists focussing on proximate and biologists on ultimate explanations. We first stress the importance of similar measures to determine close social associations, thereafter examine their ultimate benefits and proximate motivations, and discuss the latest findings on the central-neural regulation of social bonds. We conclude that both human friendship and animal close social associations are ultimately beneficial. On the proximate level, motivations for friendship in humans and for close social associations in animals are not necessarily based on benefits and are often unconditional. Moreover, humans share with many animals a similar physiological basis of sociality. Therefore, biologists and social scientist describe the same phenomenon, and the use of the term friendship for animals seems justified.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5813
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Author Beckers, T.; Miller, R.R.; De Houwer, J.; Urushihara, K.
Title Reasoning rats: forward blocking in Pavlovian animal conditioning is sensitive to constraints of causal inference Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Journal of experimental psychology. General Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Gen
Volume (down) 135 Issue 1 Pages 92-102
Keywords Animals; *Association Learning; *Cognition; *Conditioning, Classical; Cues; Fear; Female; Inhibition (Psychology); Male; Motivation; *Problem Solving; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Abstract Forward blocking is one of the best-documented phenomena in Pavlovian animal conditioning. According to contemporary associative learning theories, forward blocking arises directly from the hardwired basic learning rules that govern the acquisition or expression of associations. Contrary to this view, here the authors demonstrate that blocking in rats is flexible and sensitive to constraints of causal inference, such as violation of additivity and ceiling considerations. This suggests that complex cognitive processes akin to causal inferential reasoning are involved in a well-established Pavlovian animal conditioning phenomenon commonly attributed to the operation of basic associative processes.
Address Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York, NY, USA. tom.beckers@psy.kuleuven.be
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0096-3445 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16478318 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 155
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Author Gibson, B.M.; Shettleworth, S.J.
Title Place versus response learning revisited: tests of blocking on the radial maze Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Behavioral neuroscience Abbreviated Journal Behav Neurosci
Volume (down) 119 Issue 2 Pages 567-586
Keywords Animals; *Association Learning; Male; *Maze Learning; Memory; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Reproducibility of Results
Abstract Neurobiological and behavioral research indicates that place learning and response learning occur simultaneously, in parallel. Such findings seem to conflict with theories of associative learning in which different cues compete for learning. The authors conducted place+response training on a radial maze and then tested place learning and response learning separately by reconfiguring the maze in various ways. Consistent with the effects of manipulating place and response systems in the brain (M. G. Packard & J. L. McGaugh, 1996), well-trained rats showed strong place learning and strong response learning. Three experiments using associative blocking paradigms indicated that prior response learning interferes with place learning. Blocking and related tests can be used to better understand how memory systems interact during learning.
Address Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824-3567, USA. bgibson@cisunix.unh.edu
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 0735-7044 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15839803 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 362
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Author Lansade, L.; Bouissou, M.-F.; Erhard, H.W.
Title Reactivity to isolation and association with conspecifics: A temperament trait stable across time and situations Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume (down) 106 Issue 2-4 Pages 355-373
Keywords Horse; Equus caballus; Temperament; Trait; Isolation; Conspecific association; Stability
Abstract A temperament trait is generally defined as individual differences in behaviour that are present early in life and relatively stable across situations and over time. The aim of this study was to test the existence of a trait <<gregariousness>> in horses, by testing the stability across situations and over time of the responses to different social events. Sixty-six Welsh ponies and 44 Anglo-Arab horses were successively tested at 8 months and 1.5 years of age. Among them, 33 ponies and 21 horses were also tested at 2.5 years of age. They were submitted to four test situations: isolation and separation from, attraction towards and passing conspecifics. We carried out the analysis using each of four test groups as a unit (e.g. 33 Welsh ponies born in 2001, tested in isolation). Isolation and separation stood out as tests that showed a high consistency within test, across tests and across time. The most interesting behavioural parameter was the frequency of neighing, which was well correlated with other parameters measured in the same tests, such as defecation, locomotion and vigilance, as well as across the 3 years (e.g. for separation test: 0.41 < R < 0.61). Therefore, the behaviour of neighing observed in separation or isolation tests as early as 8 months of age appears to be a good indicator of similar behaviour in similar situations later in life, but also of other behaviours which can render the horse difficult to use. No parameter recorded during the attraction test presented stability across situations and time: the reactions to this test were not the expression of a stable characteristic of the individual and did not reflect the same characteristic as the three other tests. Of the different parameters recorded during the passing conspecifics test, the time to cross the arrival line near conspecifics showed good stability across years (0.35 < R < 0.68). This parameter was also correlated with many others recorded during the same test, and also, to a certain extent, to the frequency of neighing in the isolation and separation tests. This stability across responses expressed in various social contexts, and this stability over time, from 8 months to 2.5 years of age suggest the existence of a trait of gregariousness in the horse. From a practical point of view, that means it is possible to estimate the level of gregariousness of a horse as early as 8 months of age. Furthermore, additional analysis shows that gregariousness decreases with age.
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Call Number Admin @ knut @ Serial 4350
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Author Hogan, D.E.; Zentall, T.R.; Pace, G.
Title Control of pigeons' matching-to-sample performance by differential sample response requirements Type Journal Article
Year 1983 Publication The American journal of psychology Abbreviated Journal Am J Psychol
Volume (down) 96 Issue 1 Pages 37-49
Keywords Animals; Association; *Color Perception; Columbidae; Cues; *Discrimination Learning; Reinforcement Schedule; Time Factors
Abstract Pigeons were trained on a matching-to-sample task in which sample hue and required sample-specific observing behavior provided redundant, relevant cues for correct choices. On trials that involved red and yellow hues as comparison stimuli, a fixed-ratio 16 schedule (FR 16) was required to illuminate the comparisons when the sample was red, and a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rates 3-sec schedule (DRL 3-sec) was required when the sample was yellow. On trials involving blue and green hues as comparison stimuli, an FR 16 schedule was required when the sample was blue and a DRL 3-sec schedule was required when the sample was green. For some pigeons, a 0-sec delay intervened between sample offset and comparison onset, whereas other pigeons experienced a random mixture of 0-sec and 2-sec delay trials. Test trial performance at 0-sec delay indicated that sample-specific behavior controlled choice performance considerably more than sample hue did. Test performance was independent of whether original training involved all 0-sec delay trials or a mixture of 0-sec and 2-sec delays. Sample-specific observing response requirements appear to facilitate pigeons' matching-to-sample performance by strengthening associations between the observing response and correct choice.
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0002-9556 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:6859346 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 265
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Author Sibbald, A.M.; Elston, D.A.; Smith, D.J.F.; Erhard, H.W.
Title A method for assessing the relative sociability of individuals within groups: an example with grazing sheep Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume (down) 91 Issue 1-2 Pages 57-73
Keywords Association; Grazing; Nearest neighbour; Sheep; Sociability; Social behaviour
Abstract We describe a method for quantifying relative sociability within a group of animals, which is defined as the tendency to be close to others within the group and based on the identification of nearest neighbours. The method is suitable for groups of animals in which all individuals are visible and identifiable and has application as a tool in other areas of behavioural research. A sociability index (SI) is calculated, which is equivalent to the relative proportion of time that an individual spends as the nearest neighbour of other animals in the group and is scaled to have an expectation of 1.0 under the null hypothesis of random mixing. Associated pairs, which are animals seen as nearest neighbours more often than would be expected by chance, are also identified. The method tests for consistency across a number of independent observation periods, by comparison with values obtained from simulations in which animal identities are randomised between observation periods. An experiment is described in which 8 groups of 7 grazing sheep were each observed for a total of 10, one-hour periods and the identities and distances away of the 3 nearest neighbours of each focal animal recorded at 5-min intervals. Significant within-group differences in SIs were found in four of the groups (P < 0.001). SIs calculated using the nearest neighbour, two nearest neighbours or three nearest neighbours, were generally highly correlated within all groups, with little change in the ranking of animals. There were significant negative correlations between SIs and nearest neighbour distances in five of the groups. It was concluded that there was no advantage in recording more than one neighbour to calculate the SI. Advantages of the SI over other methods for measuring sociability and pair-wise associations are discussed.
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 317
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Author Lazareva, O.F.; Smirnova, A.A.; Bagozkaja, M.S.; Zorina, Z.A.; Rayevsky, V.V.; Wasserman, E.A.
Title Transitive responding in hooded crows requires linearly ordered stimuli Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior Abbreviated Journal J Exp Anal Behav
Volume (down) 82 Issue 1 Pages 1-19
Keywords Animals; *Association; Cognition/physiology; Crows; Discrimination (Psychology); *Discrimination Learning; Feedback; Reinforcement (Psychology); Visual Perception/physiology
Abstract Eight crows were taught to discriminate overlapping pairs of visual stimuli (A+ B-, B+ C-, C+ D-, and D+ E-). For 4 birds, the stimuli were colored cards with a circle of the same color on the reverse side whose diameter decreased from A to E (ordered feedback group). These circles were made available for comparison to potentially help the crows order the stimuli along a physical dimension. For the other 4 birds, the circles corresponding to the colored cards had the same diameter (constant feedback group). In later testing, a novel choice pair (BD) was presented. Reinforcement history involving stimuli B and D was controlled so that the reinforcement/nonreinforcement ratios for the latter would be greater than for the former. If, during the BD test, the crows chose between stimuli according to these reinforcement/nonreinforcement ratios, then they should prefer D; if they chose according to the diameter of the feedback stimuli, then they should prefer B. In the ordered feedback group, the crows strongly preferred B over D; in the constant feedback group, the crows' choice did not differ significantly from chance. These results, plus simulations using associative models, suggest that the orderability of the postchoice feedback stimuli is important for crows' transitive responding.
Address Institute of Higher Nervous Activity, Moscow State University. olga-lazareva@uiowa.edu
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0022-5002 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15484868 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 612
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Author Zentall, T.R.; Galizio, M.; Critchfied, T.S.
Title Categorization, concept learning, and behavior analysis: an introduction Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior Abbreviated Journal J Exp Anal Behav
Volume (down) 78 Issue 3 Pages 237-248
Keywords Animals; Association Learning; *Concept Formation; *Discrimination Learning; Humans; Language
Abstract Categorization and concept learning encompass some of the most important aspects of behavior, but historically they have not been central topics in the experimental analysis of behavior. To introduce this special issue of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB), we define key terms; distinguish between the study of concepts and the study of concept learning; describe three types of concept learning characterized by the stimulus classes they yield; and briefly identify several other themes (e.g., quantitative modeling and ties to language) that appear in the literature. As the special issue demonstrates, a surprising amount and diversity of work is being conducted that either represents a behavior-analytic perspective or can inform or constructively challenge this perspective.
Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40506, USA. zentall@pop.uky.edu
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0022-5002 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:12507002 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 236
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