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Author (down) Zhou, W.-X.; Sornette, D.; Hill, R.A.; Dunbar, R.I.M.
Title Discrete hierarchical organization of social group sizes Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci
Volume 272 Issue 1561 Pages 439-444
Keywords Anthropology, Cultural; *Group Structure; Humans; *Models, Biological; *Social Behavior; *Social Environment
Abstract The 'social brain hypothesis' for the evolution of large brains in primates has led to evidence for the coevolution of neocortical size and social group sizes, suggesting that there is a cognitive constraint on group size that depends, in some way, on the volume of neural material available for processing and synthesizing information on social relationships. More recently, work on both human and non-human primates has suggested that social groups are often hierarchically structured. We combine data on human grouping patterns in a comprehensive and systematic study. Using fractal analysis, we identify, with high statistical confidence, a discrete hierarchy of group sizes with a preferred scaling ratio close to three: rather than a single or a continuous spectrum of group sizes, humans spontaneously form groups of preferred sizes organized in a geometrical series approximating 3-5, 9-15, 30-45, etc. Such discrete scale invariance could be related to that identified in signatures of herding behaviour in financial markets and might reflect a hierarchical processing of social nearness by human brains.
Address State Key Laboratory of Chemical Reaction Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15734699 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 549
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Author (down) 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
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17024510 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 217
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Author (down) 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
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1543-4494 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15161137 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 230
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Author (down) Whiten, A.; Horner, V.; Litchfield, C.A.; Marshall-Pescini, S.
Title How do apes ape? Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Learning & Behavior Abbreviated Journal Learn. Behav.
Volume 32 Issue 1 Pages 36-52
Keywords Adaptation, Psychological; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Hominidae/*psychology; *Imitative Behavior; Imprinting (Psychology); *Learning; Psychological Theory; *Social Environment; *Social Facilitation
Abstract In the wake of telling critiques of the foundations on which earlier conclusions were based, the last 15 years have witnessed a renaissance in the study of social learning in apes. As a result, we are able to review 31 experimental studies from this period in which social learning in chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans has been investigated. The principal question framed at the beginning of this era, Do apes ape? has been answered in the affirmative, at least in certain conditions. The more interesting question now is, thus, How do apes ape? Answering this question has engendered richer taxonomies of the range of social-learning processes at work and new methodologies to uncover them. Together, these studies suggest that apes ape by employing a portfolio of alternative social-learning processes in flexibly adaptive ways, in conjunction with nonsocial learning. We conclude by sketching the kind of decision tree that appears to underlie the deployment of these alternatives.
Address Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. a.whiten@st-and.ac.uk
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1543-4494 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15161139 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 734
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Author (down) Tomasello, M.; Call, J.
Title The role of humans in the cognitive development of apes revisited Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 7 Issue 4 Pages 213-215
Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Cognition; Culture; Hominidae/*psychology; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Imprinting (Psychology); *Intention; Social Behavior; *Social Environment; Species Specificity
Abstract
Address Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. tomas@eva.mpg.de
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15278733 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2517
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Author (down) Sundaresan, S.R.; Fischhoff, I.R.; Dushoff, J.; Rubenstein, D.I.
Title Network metrics reveal differences in social organization between two fission-fusion species, Grevy's zebra and onager Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Oecologia Abbreviated Journal Oecologia
Volume 151 Issue 1 Pages 140-149
Keywords Analysis of Variance; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Environment; Equidae/*physiology; Female; India; Kenya; Male; *Models, Theoretical; *Social Behavior; *Social Environment
Abstract For species in which group membership frequently changes, it has been a challenge to characterize variation in individual interactions and social structure. Quantifying this variation is necessary to test hypotheses about ecological determinants of social patterns and to make predictions about how group dynamics affect the development of cooperative relationships and transmission processes. Network models have recently become popular for analyzing individual contacts within a population context. We use network metrics to compare populations of Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi) and onagers (Equus hemionus khur). These closely related equids, previously described as having the same social system, inhabit environments differing in the distribution of food, water, and predators. Grevy's zebra and onagers are one example of many sets of coarsely similar fission-fusion species and populations, observed elsewhere in other ungulates, primates, and cetaceans. Our analysis of the population association networks reveals contrasts consistent with their distinctive environments. Grevy's zebra individuals are more selective in their association choices. Grevy's zebra form stable cliques, while onager associations are more fluid. We find evidence that females associate assortatively by reproductive state in Grevy's zebra but not in onagers. The current approach demonstrates the utility of network metrics for identifying fine-grained variation among individuals and populations in association patterns. From our analysis, we can make testable predictions about behavioral mechanisms underlying social structure and its effects on transmission processes.
Address Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. ssundare@princeton.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0029-8549 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16964497 Approved no
Call Number Serial 1863
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Author (down) Peltzer, K.; Mabilu, M.G.; Mathoho, S.F.; Nekhwevha, A.P.; Sikhwivhilu, T.; Sinthumule, T.S.
Title Trauma history and severity of gambling involvement among horse-race gamblers in a South African gambling setting Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Psychological Reports Abbreviated Journal Psychol Rep
Volume 99 Issue 2 Pages 472-476
Keywords Adult; African Continental Ancestry Group/*psychology/statistics & numerical data; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Gambling/*psychology; Humans; *Life Change Events; Male; Middle Aged; Personality Inventory; Risk Factors; *Social Environment; Socioeconomic Factors; South Africa; Statistics; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/epidemiology/*psychology
Abstract The purpose of this study was to ascertain the frequency of gambling involvement and the prevalence of problem gambling among horse race gamblers and to discover whether problem gambling in this sample is associated with a history of trauma. Among a sample of 266 South African horse-race gamblers (94% men and 6% women, Mage 46.8 yr., SD = 13.9, range 18-85 years), 31.2% were classified as probable pathological gamblers and 19.9% with problem gambling. Major weekly gambling activities included racetrack betting (82%), purchase of lottery tickets or scratch tickets (35%), purchase of sports lottery tickets (23%), and using casino type games (18%). Trauma history was significantly associated with gambling severity.
Address Human Sciences Research Council, University of Limpopo, Pretoria, South Africa. KPeltzer@hsrc.ac.za
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0033-2941 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17153816 Approved no
Call Number Serial 1850
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Author (down) 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
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1543-4494 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15161142 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 75
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Author (down) Loveland, K.A.
Title Self-recognition in the bottlenose dolphin: ecological considerations Type Journal Article
Year 1995 Publication Consciousness and Cognition Abbreviated Journal Conscious Cogn
Volume 4 Issue 2 Pages 254-257
Keywords Animals; Attention; *Awareness; Body Image; Dolphins/*psychology; Exploratory Behavior; Female; Male; *Self Concept; *Social Environment; Species Specificity; Television; *Visual Perception
Abstract
Address Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Medical School, Houston 77025, USA
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1053-8100 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:8521267 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4161
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Author (down) Larose, C.; Richard-Yris, M.-A.; Hausberger, M.; Rogers, L.J.
Title Laterality of horses associated with emotionality in novel situations Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Laterality Abbreviated Journal Laterality
Volume 11 Issue 4 Pages 355-367
Keywords Affect/*physiology; Animals; Brain/*physiology; Female; Functional Laterality/*physiology; Horses; Male; *Social Behavior; *Social Environment
Abstract We have established that lateral biases are characteristic of visual behaviour in 65 horses. Two breeds, Trotters and French Saddlebreds aged 2 to 3, were tested on a novel object test. The main finding was a significant correlation between emotionality index and the eye preferred to view the novel stimulus: the higher the emotionality, the more likely that the horse looked with its left eye. The less emotive French Saddlebreds, however, tended to glance at the object using the right eye, a tendency that was not found in the Trotters, although the emotive index was the same for both breeds. The youngest French Saddlebreds did not show this trend. These results are discussed in relation to the different training practices for the breeds and broader findings on lateralisation in different species.
Address Universite de Rennes 1, France
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1357-650X ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16754236 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ room B 3.029 Serial 1826
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