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Author Sole, L.M.; Shettleworth, S.J.; Bennett, P.J.
Title (down) Uncertainty in pigeons Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Psychonomic bulletin & review Abbreviated Journal Psychon Bull Rev
Volume 10 Issue 3 Pages 738-745
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal; Columbidae; *Decision Making; Reinforcement (Psychology); Reward; Transfer (Psychology); Visual Perception
Abstract Pigeons classified a display of illuminated pixels on a touchscreen as sparse or dense. Correct responses were reinforced with six food pellets; incorrect responses were unreinforced. On some trials an uncertain response option was available. Pecking it was always reinforced with an intermediate number of pellets. Like monkeys and people in related experiments, the birds chose the uncertain response most often when the stimulus presented was difficult to classify correctly, but in other respects their behavior was not functionally similar to human behavior based on conscious uncertainty or to the behavior of monkeys in comparable experiments. Our data were well described by a signal detection model that assumed that the birds were maximizing perceived reward in a consistent way across all the experimental conditions.
Address University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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 1069-9384 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:14620372 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 366
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Author Stueckle, S.; Zinner, D.
Title (down) To follow or not to follow: decision making and leadership during the morning departure in chacma baboons Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.
Volume 75 Issue 6 Pages 1995-2004
Keywords chacma baboon; collective movement; consensus; decision making; leadership; Papio hamadryas ursinus
Abstract To benefit from group living, group members need to keep the group cohesive by coordinating time and direction of travelling. Self-organization and leadership are two means of coordination and two types of decision can be made on the group level: combined and consensus. We studied the initiation process of group movements during the morning departure of a group of chacma baboons, Papio hamadryas ursinus, from its sleeping site in De Hoop Nature Reserve, South Africa. Findings from other female-bonded primate groups led us to hypothesize that females should play a major role in the decision-making process. Approximately 75% of the adults made a start attempt, with 62 of 92 attempts being by males. There was no sex difference in the probability of being successful when initiating an attempt. Lactating females initiated fewer than pregnant or cycling females. Thus, at least for this group of chacma baboons, leadership appeared to be distributed and the decision about the timing of departure and travel direction seemed to be a partially shared consensus decision with adult males contributing more to the decision outcome, with a slightly more prominent role of the dominant male. Our results do not support the [`]leading females' hypothesis. No behavioural patterns that might serve as specialized signals leading to a more successful recruitment of other group members were observed. The departure process appeared to be coordinated merely through individuals setting an example by moving off.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0003-3472 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5130
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Author Jacobs, A.; Maumy, M.; Petit, O.
Title (down) The influence of social organisation on leadership in brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus fulvus) in a controlled environment Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Behavioural Processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.
Volume 79 Issue 2 Pages 111-113
Keywords Animals; *Decision Making; Dominance-Subordination; *Exploratory Behavior; Female; Group Structure; *Leadership; Lemur/*psychology; Male; Sex Factors; *Social Environment
Abstract Studies on leadership during group movements in several lemur species showed that females were responsible for the travelling choices concerning time and direction. Interestingly, in these species females are dominant over males. We investigated the influence of social organisation upon leadership processes by studying a lemur species in which social organisation is characterized by the absence of female dominance: the brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus fulvus). The study was conducted on a semi-free ranging group of 11 individuals and the analysis performed on 69 group movements showed that all the individuals could initiate a group movement. In 34 cases, the whole group moved. There was no significant difference in the number of start attempts or in the number of group members involved from one initiator to another. Moreover, there was no effect of sex or age of the initiator on the number of individuals following it or on the speed of the joining process. Therefore, the leadership observed is widely distributed to all group members. These results support the hypothesis of an influence of social organisation upon the decision-making processes but still remain to be studied in a more relevant ecological context.
Address IPHC-DEPE, Equipe d'ethologie des primates, UMR 7178, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-Universite Louis Pasteur and Centre de Primatologie, Strasbourg, 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 0376-6357 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:18586413 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5127
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Author Shettleworth, S.J.
Title (down) Taking the best for learning Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Behavioural processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.
Volume 69 Issue 2 Pages 147-9; author reply 159-63
Keywords *Algorithms; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Decision Making; Evolution; *Learning; *Models, Theoretical
Abstract Examples of how animals learn when multiple, sometimes redundant, cues are present provide further examples not considered by Hutchinson and Gigerenzer that seem to fit the principle of taking the best. “The best” may the most valid cue in the present circumstances; evolution may also produce species-specific biases to use the most functionally relevant cues.
Address Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 3G3. shettle@psych.utoronto.ca
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 0376-6357 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15845301 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 361
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Author Holekamp, K.E.; Sakai, S.T.; Lundrigan, B.L.
Title (down) Social intelligence in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences Abbreviated Journal Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
Volume 362 Issue 1480 Pages 523-538
Keywords Anatomy, Comparative; Animals; Brain/*anatomy & histology; Cercopithecinae/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Decision Making/physiology; Hyaenidae/anatomy & histology/*physiology; *Intelligence; *Recognition (Psychology); *Social Behavior; Species Specificity
Abstract If the large brains and great intelligence characteristic of primates were favoured by selection pressures associated with life in complex societies, then cognitive abilities and nervous systems with primate-like attributes should have evolved convergently in non-primate mammals living in large, elaborate societies in which social dexterity enhances individual fitness. The societies of spotted hyenas are remarkably like those of cercopithecine primates with respect to size, structure and patterns of competition and cooperation. These similarities set an ideal stage for comparative analysis of social intelligence and nervous system organization. As in cercopithecine primates, spotted hyenas use multiple sensory modalities to recognize their kin and other conspecifics as individuals, they recognize third-party kin and rank relationships among their clan mates, and they use this knowledge adaptively during social decision making. However, hyenas appear to rely more intensively than primates on social facilitation and simple rules of thumb in social decision making. No evidence to date suggests that hyenas are capable of true imitation. Finally, it appears that the gross anatomy of the brain in spotted hyenas might resemble that in primates with respect to expansion of frontal cortex, presumed to be involved in the mediation of social behaviour.
Address Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. holekamp@msu.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 0962-8436 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17289649 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4719
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Author Allen, D.; Tanner, K.
Title (down) Putting the horse back in front of the cart: using visions and decisions about high-quality learning experiences to drive course design Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication CBE Life Sciences Education Abbreviated Journal CBE Life Sci Educ
Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 85-89
Keywords Curriculum/*standards; *Decision Making; *Learning; Models, Educational; Schools; Teaching/*methods/*standards
Abstract
Address Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA. deallen@udel.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 1931-7913 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17548870 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3999
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Author Danchin, E.; Giraldeau, L.-A.; Valone, T.J.; Wagner, R.H.
Title (down) Public information: from nosy neighbors to cultural evolution Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Science (New York, N.Y.) Abbreviated Journal Science
Volume 305 Issue 5683 Pages 487-491
Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Cues; *Cultural Evolution; *Decision Making; Environment; Evolution; Feeding Behavior; Female; Genes; Humans; Male; Reproduction; Sexual Behavior, Animal
Abstract Psychologists, economists, and advertising moguls have long known that human decision-making is strongly influenced by the behavior of others. A rapidly accumulating body of evidence suggests that the same is true in animals. Individuals can use information arising from cues inadvertently produced by the behavior of other individuals with similar requirements. Many of these cues provide public information about the quality of alternatives. The use of public information is taxonomically widespread and can enhance fitness. Public information can lead to cultural evolution, which we suggest may then affect biological evolution.
Address U.P.M.C. CNRS-UMR7625, Bat A-7e etage-Case 237, 7 quai Saint Bernard, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France. edanchin@snv.jussieu.fr
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 1095-9203 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15273386 Approved no
Call Number Serial 2131
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Author Dyer, J.R.G.; Johansson, A.; Helbing, D.; Couzin, I.D.; Krause, J.
Title (down) Leadership, consensus decision making and collective behaviour in humans Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Abbreviated Journal Phil. Trans. Biol. Sci.
Volume 364 Issue 1518 Pages 781-789
Keywords * leadership * consensus decision making * collective behaviour * human group
Abstract This paper reviews the literature on leadership in vertebrate groups, including recent work on human groups, before presenting the results of three new experiments looking at leadership and decision making in small and large human groups. In experiment 1, we find that both group size and the presence of uninformed individuals can affect the speed with which small human groups (eight people) decide between two opposing directional preferences and the likelihood of the group splitting. In experiment 2, we show that the spatial positioning of informed individuals within small human groups (10 people) can affect the speed and accuracy of group motion. We find that having a mixture of leaders positioned in the centre and on the edge of a group increases the speed and accuracy with which the group reaches their target. In experiment 3, we use large human crowds (100 and 200 people) to demonstrate that the trends observed from earlier work using small human groups can be applied to larger crowds. We find that only a small minority of informed individuals is needed to guide a large uninformed group. These studies build upon important theoretical and empirical work on leadership and decision making in animal groups.
Address
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5122
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Author Sinha, A.
Title (down) Knowledge acquired and decisions made: triadic interactions during allogrooming in wild bonnet macaques, Macaca radiata Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences Abbreviated Journal Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
Volume 353 Issue 1368 Pages 619-631
Keywords Aggression; Animals; Cognition; Computer Simulation; Decision Making; Evolution; Female; Grooming; Logistic Models; Macaca radiata/*psychology; *Social Behavior; Social Dominance
Abstract The pressures of developing and maintaining intricate social relationships may have led to the evolution of enhanced cognitive abilities in many nonhuman primates. Knowledge of the dominance ranks and social relationships of other individuals, in particular, is important in evaluating one's position in the rank hierarchy and affiliative networks. Triadic interactions offer an excellent opportunity to examine whether decisions are taken by individuals on the basis of such knowledge. Allogrooming supplants among wild female bonnet macaques (macaca radiata) usually involved the subordinate female of a grooming dyad retreating at the approach of a female dominant to both members of the dyad. In a few exceptional cases, however, the dominant member of the dyad retreated; simple non-cognitive hypotheses involving dyadic rank differences and agonistic relationships failed to explain this phenomenon. Instead, retreat by the dominant individual was positively correlated with the social attractiveness of her subordinate companion (as measured by the duration of grooming received by the latter from other females in the troop). This suggests that not only does an individual evaluate relationships among other females, but does so on the basis of the amount of grooming received by them. Similarly, the frequency of approaches received by any female was correlated with her social attractiveness when she was the dominant member of the dyad, but not when she was the subordinate. This indicated that approaching females might be aware of the relative dominance ranks of the two allogrooming individuals. In logistic regression analyses, the probability of any individual retreating was found to be influenced more by her knowledge of her rank difference with both the other interactants, rather than by their absolute ranks. Moreover, information about social attractiveness appeared to be used in terms of correlated dominance ranks. The nature of knowledge acquired by bonnet macaque females may thus be egotistical in that other individuals are evaluated relative to oneself, integrative in that information about all other interactants is used simultaneously, and hierarchical in the ability to preferentially use certain categories of knowledge for the storage of related information from other domains.
Address National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR Centre, Bangalore, India
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 0962-8436 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:9602536 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4362
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Author Conradt, L.; Roper, T.J.
Title (down) Group decision-making in animals Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 421 Issue 6919 Pages 155-158
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Decision Making; Democracy; Group Processes; *Models, Biological; Population Density; Social Behavior
Abstract Groups of animals often need to make communal decisions, for example about which activities to perform, when to perform them and which direction to travel in; however, little is known about how they do so. Here, we model the fitness consequences of two possible decision-making mechanisms: 'despotism' and 'democracy'. We show that under most conditions, the costs to subordinate group members, and to the group as a whole, are considerably higher for despotic than for democratic decisions. Even when the despot is the most experienced group member, it only pays other members to accept its decision when group size is small and the difference in information is large. Democratic decisions are more beneficial primarily because they tend to produce less extreme decisions, rather than because each individual has an influence on the decision per se. Our model suggests that democracy should be widespread and makes quantitative, testable predictions about group decision-making in non-humans.
Address School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK. l.conradt@sussex.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 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:12520299 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5136
Permanent link to this record