| Records |
| Author |
Horner, V.; Whiten, A. |
| Title |
Causal knowledge and imitation/emulation switching in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Animal cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
8 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
164-181 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; *Concept Formation; Female; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Male; Pan troglodytes; *Problem Solving; Psychomotor Performance; *Social Environment; Species Specificity |
| Abstract |
This study explored whether the tendency of chimpanzees and children to use emulation or imitation to solve a tool-using task was a response to the availability of causal information. Young wild-born chimpanzees from an African sanctuary and 3- to 4-year-old children observed a human demonstrator use a tool to retrieve a reward from a puzzle-box. The demonstration involved both causally relevant and irrelevant actions, and the box was presented in each of two conditions: opaque and clear. In the opaque condition, causal information about the effect of the tool inside the box was not available, and hence it was impossible to differentiate between the relevant and irrelevant parts of the demonstration. However, in the clear condition causal information was available, and subjects could potentially determine which actions were necessary. When chimpanzees were presented with the opaque box, they reproduced both the relevant and irrelevant actions, thus imitating the overall structure of the task. When the box was presented in the clear condition they instead ignored the irrelevant actions in favour of a more efficient, emulative technique. These results suggest that emulation is the favoured strategy of chimpanzees when sufficient causal information is available. However, if such information is not available, chimpanzees are prone to employ a more comprehensive copy of an observed action. In contrast to the chimpanzees, children employed imitation to solve the task in both conditions, at the expense of efficiency. We suggest that the difference in performance of chimpanzees and children may be due to a greater susceptibility of children to cultural conventions, perhaps combined with a differential focus on the results, actions and goals of the demonstrator. |
| Address |
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JU, UK. vkh1@st-andrews.ac.uk |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15549502 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
732 |
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| Author |
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 |
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1543-4494 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15161139 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
734 |
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| Author |
Caldwell, C.A.; Whiten, A. |
| Title |
Testing for social learning and imitation in common marmosets, Callithrix jacchus, using an artificial fruit |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
7 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
77-85 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; Callithrix/*psychology; Discrimination Learning; *Feeding Behavior; Female; Food Preferences; Fruit; *Imitative Behavior; Male; *Social Behavior; Social Environment |
| Abstract |
We tested for social learning and imitation in common marmosets using an artificial foraging task and trained conspecific demonstrators. We trained a demonstrator marmoset to open an artificial fruit, providing a full demonstration of the task to be learned. Another marmoset provided a partial demonstration, controlling for stimulus enhancement effects, by eating food from the outside of the apparatus. We thus compared three observer groups, each consisting of four animals: those that received the full demonstration, those that received the partial demonstration, and a control group that saw no demonstration prior to testing. Although none of the observer marmosets succeeded in opening the artificial fruit during the test periods, there were clear effects of demonstration type. Those that saw the full demonstration manipulated the apparatus more overall, whereas those from the control group manipulated it the least of the three groups. Those from the full-demonstration group also contacted the particular parts of the artificial fruit that they had seen touched (localised stimulus enhancement) to a greater extent than the other two groups. There was also an interaction between the number of hand and mouth touches made to the artificial fruit for the full- and partial-demonstration groups. Whether or not these data represent evidence for imitation is discussed. We also propose that the clear differences between the groups suggest that social learning mechanisms provide real benefits to these animals in terms of developing novel food-processing skills analogous to the one presented here. |
| Address |
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution and Scottish Primate Research Group, University of St Andrews, KY16 9JU, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. C.A.Caldwell@exeter.ac.uk |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:15069606 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
735 |
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| Author |
Stoinski, T.S.; Wrate, J.L.; Ure, N.; Whiten, A. |
| Title |
Imitative learning by captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in a simulated food-processing task |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
| Volume |
115 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
272-281 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; *Discrimination Learning; Feeding Behavior/*physiology; Gorilla gorilla; *Imitative Behavior; Social Behavior |
| Abstract |
Although field studies have suggested the existence of cultural transmission of foraging techniques in primates, identification of transmission mechanisms has remained elusive. To test experimentally for evidence of imitation in the current study, we exposed gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) to an artificial fruit foraging task designed by A. Whiten and D. M. Custance (1996). Gorillas (n=6) watched a human model remove a series of 3 defenses around a fruit. Each of the defenses was removed using 1 of 2 alternative techniques. Subsequent video analysis of gorillas' behavior showed a significant tendency to copy the observed technique on 1 of the individual defenses and the direction of removal on another defense. This is the first statistically reliable evidence of imitation in gorillas. Sequence of defense removal was not replicated. The gorillas' responses were most similar to those of chimpanzees. |
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TECHlab, Zoo Atlanta, Georgia 30315, USA. stoinskit@mindspring.com |
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0735-7036 |
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| Notes |
PMID:11594496 |
Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
738 |
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| Author |
Whiten, A. |
| Title |
Imitation of the sequential structure of actions by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1998 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
| Volume |
112 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
270-281 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Appetitive Behavior/physiology; *Ceremonial Behavior; Exploratory Behavior/physiology; Female; Fruit; Imitative Behavior/*physiology; Learning/*physiology; Male; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Practice (Psychology); Problem Solving/*physiology |
| Abstract |
Imitation was studied experimentally by allowing chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) to observe alternative patterns of actions for opening a specially designed “artificial fruit.” Like problematic foods primates deal with naturally, with the test fruit several defenses had to be removed to gain access to an edible core, but the sequential order and method of defense removal could be systematically varied. Each subject repeatedly observed 1 of 2 alternative techniques for removing each defense and 1 of 2 alternative sequential patterns of defense removal. Imitation of sequential organization emerged after repeated cycles of demonstration and attempts at opening the fruit. Imitation in chimpanzees may thus have some power to produce cultural convergence, counter to the supposition that individual learning processes corrupt copied actions. Imitation of sequential organization was accompanied by imitation of some aspects of the techniques that made up the sequence. |
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Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. a.whiten@st-andrews.ac.uk |
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0735-7036 |
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PMID:9770315 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
743 |
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| Author |
Whiten, A.; Custance, D.M.; Gomez, J.C.; Teixidor, P.; Bard, K.A. |
| Title |
Imitative learning of artificial fruit processing in children (Homo sapiens) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
1996 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
| Volume |
110 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
3-14 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Child, Preschool; Discrimination Learning; Female; Food Preferences/*psychology; *Fruit; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Male; Mental Recall; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Social Environment |
| Abstract |
Observational learning in chimpanzees and young children was investigated using an artificial fruit designed as an analog of natural foraging problems faced by primates. Each of 3 principal components could be removed in 2 alternative ways, demonstration of only one of which was watched by each subject. This permitted subsequent imitation by subjects to be distinguished from stimulus enhancement. Children aged 2-4 years evidenced imitation for 2 components, but also achieved demonstrated outcomes through their own techniques. Chimpanzees relied even more on their own techniques, but they did imitate elements of 1 component of the task. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental evidence of chimpanzee imitation in a functional task designed to simulate foraging behavior hypothesized to be transmitted culturally in the wild. |
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Scottish Primate Research Group, University of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. aw2@st-andrews.ac.uk |
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0735-7036 |
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PMID:8851548 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
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744 |
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| Author |
Levy, F.; Keller, M.; Poindron, P. |
| Title |
Olfactory regulation of maternal behavior in mammals |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Hormones and Behavior |
Abbreviated Journal |
Horm Behav |
| Volume |
46 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
284-302 |
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Accessory olfactory bulb; Main olfactory bulb; Olfactory learning and memory; Vomeronasal organ; Social recognition; Oxytocin |
| Abstract |
In mammals, olfactory cues are extensively used in many aspects of maternal care to ensure the coordination of mother-infant interactions and consequently the normal development of the offspring. Outside the period of parturition and lactation, when the young are not a behavioral priority, olfactory cues play an inhibitory role on maternal responsiveness since in most mammalian species studied so far, nonpregnant females find the odor of young aversive. On the contrary at the time of parturition, a shift in the hedonic value of infantile odors occurs so that the young now become a very potent stimulus and this sensorial processing constitutes an important part of the maternal motivational system. Moreover, infants' odors provide a basis for individual recognition by their mothers and some species (ungulates) have developed highly specialized mechanisms for processing of the infant signals. Perception of the smell of the young also regulates various aspects of maternal behavior. Dodecyl propionate, a compound released by of pup's preputial glands, has been shown to influence anogenital licking behavior, a fundamental pattern of maternal behavior in rodents. While there is no functional specificity of either the main or the accessory olfactory systems in the development of maternal behavior amongst species, it appears that only the main olfactory system is implicated when individual odor discrimination of the young is required. Neural structures, such as the main olfactory bulb, undergo profound changes when exposed to offspring odors at parturition. These changes in synaptic circuitry contribute both to maternal responsiveness to these odors, to their memorization, and to effects of long-term maternal experience. |
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refbase @ user @ |
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794 |
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Sappington, B.K.F.; McCall, C.A.; Coleman, D.A.; Kuhlers, D.L.; Lishak, R.S. |
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A preliminary study of the relationship between discrimination reversal learning and performance tasks in yearling and 2-year-old horses |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
1997 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
| Volume |
53 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
157-166 |
| Keywords |
Cognition; Learning; Horse; Training |
| Abstract |
A study was conducted to determine the relationship between discrimination reversal learning and performance tasks in horses. Ten yearling and seven 2-year-old mares and geldings of Arabian (n = 4), Quarter Horse (n = 9), and Thoroughbred (n = 4) breeding were given a two-choice discrimination task in which either a black or a white bucket contained a food reward for ten trials per day during 19 test days. The spatial position of the buckets was varied on a random schedule. The rewarded bucket color was reversed each time a subject met criterion of eight correct choices per day for 2 consecutive days. Discrimination reversal testing was followed by 6 days of performance tasks: three crossing a wooden bridge and three jumping an obstacle to reach food and conspecifics, within a maximum allotted time of 15 min day-1. Total reversals attained by the horses were low (x = 1.5 +/- 0.9). All subjects did attain at least one reversal, and six had two or more reversals. No differences (P > .05) were detected between ages or sexes, nor among breeds in discrimination reversal learning or performance test measurements. However, there was a trend towards a breed difference (P <= 0.09) in the mean number of correct responses to the first reversal criterion. Correlations between reversal learning results and performance task results were extremely low, indicating that the discrimination reversal learning test was not useful for predicting success at these performance tasks. Results from the two performance tasks also showed little correlation (r = 0.04, P < 0.91), indicating that horses might not use the same approach when solving the problem of crossing these two obstacles. The overall poor performance of the horses on the discrimination reversal task suggests horses may have difficulty reversing previously learned tasks. |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
826 |
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| Author |
Fragaszy, D.; Visalberghi, E. |
| Title |
Socially biased learning in monkeys |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Learning & behavior : a Psychonomic Society publication |
Abbreviated Journal |
Learn Behav |
| Volume |
32 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
24-35 |
| Keywords |
Adaptation, Psychological; Animal Communication; Animals; Behavior, Animal; *Feeding Behavior/psychology; Food Preferences/psychology; Haplorhini/*psychology; *Imitative Behavior; Imprinting (Psychology); *Learning; *Social Environment; *Social Facilitation |
| Abstract |
We review socially biased learning about food and problem solving in monkeys, relying especially on studies with tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) and callitrichid monkeys. Capuchin monkeys most effectively learn to solve a new problem when they can act jointly with an experienced partner in a socially tolerant setting and when the problem can be solved by direct action on an object or substrate, but they do not learn by imitation. Capuchin monkeys are motivated to eat foods, whether familiar or novel, when they are with others that are eating, regardless of what the others are eating. Thus, social bias in learning about foods is indirect and mediated by facilitation of feeding. In most respects, social biases in learning are similar in capuchins and callitrichids, except that callitrichids provide more specific behavioral cues to others about the availability and palatability of foods. Callitrichids generally are more tolerant toward group members and coordinate their activity in space and time more closely than capuchins do. These characteristics support stronger social biases in learning in callitrichids than in capuchins in some situations. On the other hand, callitrichids' more limited range of manipulative behaviors, greater neophobia, and greater sensitivity to the risk of predation restricts what these monkeys learn in comparison with capuchins. We suggest that socially biased learning is always the collective outcome of interacting physical, social, and individual factors, and that differences across populations and species in social bias in learning reflect variations in all these dimensions. Progress in understanding socially biased learning in nonhuman species will be aided by the development of appropriately detailed models of the richly interconnected processes affecting learning. |
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Psychology Department, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA. doree@uga.edu |
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1543-4494 |
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PMID:15161138 |
Approved |
no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
828 |
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Hall, C.A.; Cassaday, H.J.; Derrington, A.M. |
| Title |
The effect of stimulus height on visual discrimination in horses |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Journal of Animal Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. Anim Sci. |
| Volume |
81 |
Issue |
7 |
Pages |
1715-1720 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Discrimination Learning/physiology; Female; Horses/physiology/*psychology; Male; Orientation; *Photic Stimulation; Vision/*physiology |
| Abstract |
This study investigated the effect of stimulus height on the ability of horses to learn a simple visual discrimination task. Eight horses were trained to perform a two-choice, black/white discrimination with stimuli presented at one of two heights: ground level or at a height of 70 cm from the ground. The height at which the stimuli were presented was alternated from one session to the next. All trials within a single session were presented at the same height. The criterion for learning was four consecutive sessions of 70% correct responses. Performance was found to be better when stimuli were presented at ground level with respect to the number of trials taken to reach the criterion (P < 0.05), percentage of correct first choices (P < 0.01), and repeated errors made (P < 0.01). Thus, training horses to carry out tasks of visual discrimination could be enhanced by placing the stimuli on the ground. In addition, the results of the present study suggest that the visual appearance of ground surfaces is an important factor in both horse management and training. |
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School of Land-based Studies, Nottingham Trent University, Brackenhurst College Campus, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England NG25 0QF. carol.hall@ntu.ac.uk |
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0021-8812 |
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PMID:12854807 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
835 |
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