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McVey, A.; Wilkinson, A.; Mills, D.S. |
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Title |
Social learning in horses: the effect of using a group leader demonstrator on the performance of familiar conspecifics in a detour task |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2018 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Equine; Imitation; Leader; Social facilitation; Social learning |
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Learning through the observation of others allows the transfer of information without the costs incurred during individual trial and error learning. Horses (Equus caballus) are a highly social species, which might be expected to be capable of learning from others, but experimental findings are inconsistent, and potentially confounded by social facilitation effects not related directly to the learning of the task. We refined the methods used in previous equine social learning studies, to examine and distinguish specific social influences on learning of a task: we used predefined group leaders rather than agonistically dominant individuals to demonstrate a detour task to familiar conspecific observers; in addition we had two control groups: a non-observer (true control) and a group with the demonstrator simply present at the goal (social facilitation control). 44 socially kept horses were allocated to one of the three test conditions and took part in five trials each. Success rate, latency and detour direction were recorded. There was no significant difference between the three groups in the likelihood of them succeeding in the task nor latency to succeed; however there was a significant difference in the route chosen by the groups, with the true control choosing the side with the entrance gate significantly more than either the observer group or social facilitation group. Both of the latter two groups chose to go in the same direction relative to themselves, regardless of which side the gate was. Seven out of nine horses in the observer group chose the same direction as their demonstrator every time. Our results show a significant role of social facilitation on detour behaviour and highlight the importance of including adequate controls for simpler cognitive influences on behaviour before claims can be made about the specific learning of motor actions or goal directed behaviour. Social cues may be important to horses if the task is sufficiently challenging and motivationally important, so future work should consider more demanding, but ecologically relevant situations, in order to maximise the potential revelation of social learning effects which do not depend on simple local or stimulus enhancement effects. |
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0168-1591 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6395 |
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Author |
Bonnie, K.E.; Earley, R.L. |
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Title |
Expanding the scope for social information use |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2007 |
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Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
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74 |
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2 |
Pages |
171-18 |
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Keywords |
behavioural cue; eavesdropping; public information; signalling; social information; social learning |
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Our understanding of how, why, and the circumstances under which animals use social information has been facilitated by three principal areas of research, social learning, public information use and social eavesdropping. With few exceptions, these related concepts have remained remarkably distinct within the literature, with little discussion or integration among them. Are these distinctions warranted? We tackle the issue by exploring similarities and differences between the concepts with respect to how animals gather and use social information, the type of information gathered, how information is packaged, and the relative payoffs to individuals involved. We contend that none of the currently dominant paradigms, social learning, public information use, or social eavesdropping, provide a unifying theme for studying social information use. Instead, we favour the central characteristic of the three concepts, social information use, as the overarching umbrella, and advocate a broader conceptual framework for understanding more comprehensively how animals behave with their social environments. Our intention is not to revolutionize the fields of social learning, public information use or social eavesdropping, but rather to stimulate discussion among researchers investigating the abilities of animals to extract information from the social environment. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4205 |
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Author |
Nicol, C.J. |
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Title |
The social transmission of information and behaviour |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
1995 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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44 |
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2-4 |
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79-98 |
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Social learning; Imitation; Social facilitation; Cultural transmission; Stereotypies |
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Social influences on established behaviour and on the acquisition of new information and behaviour are reviewed. Distinctions between social facilitation and contagious behaviour are drawn and suggestions for further research on contagious behaviour are made. Socially derived visual, olfactory and auditory cues are considered as important influences on behaviour and subsequent learning. The evidence supporting two potential mechanisms of social learning, i.e. stimulus enhancement followed by individual learning, and imitation, is reviewed in detail. It is argued that the functions of social learning are similarly heterogeneous and include motor skill acquisition, gathering of environmental information, and social conformity. Factors affecting the spread of socially acquired skills, including the social relationship between demonstrator and observer, are highlighted. Lastly, the few studies of social learning that have been conducted with domestic species are reviewed and potential applied goals that could stimulate further research in this area are suggested. |
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refbase @ user @ |
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577 |
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Author |
Greco, B.J.; Brown, T.K.; Andrews, J.R.M.; Swaisgood, R.R.; Caine, N.G. |
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Title |
Social learning in captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana africana) |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2013 |
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Abbreviated Journal |
Animal Cognition |
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Volume |
16 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
459-469 |
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Keywords |
Elephants; Loxodonta; Social learning; Imitation; Animal cognition |
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Social learning is a more efficient method of information acquisition and application than trial and error learning and is prevalent across a variety of animal taxa. Social learning is assumed to be important for elephants, but evidence in support of that claim is mostly anecdotal. Using a herd of six adult female African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana africana) at the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park, we evaluated whether viewing a conspecific’s interactions facilitated learning of a novel task. The tasks used feeding apparatus that could be solved in one of two distinct ways. Contrary to our hypothesis, the method the demonstrating animal used did not predict the method used by the observer. However, we did find evidence of social learning: After watching the model, subjects spent a greater percentage of their time interacting with the apparatus than they did in unmodeled trials. These results suggest that the demonstrations of a model may increase the motivation of elephants to explore novel foraging tasks. |
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Springer-Verlag |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5668 |
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Author |
Leadbeater, E. |
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Title |
What evolves in the evolution of social learning? |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2015 |
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Journal of Zoology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Zool |
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Volume |
295 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
4-11 |
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Keywords |
social learning; associative learning; social information use |
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Social learning is fundamental to social life across the animal kingdom, but we still know little about how natural selection has shaped social learning abilities on a proximate level. Sometimes, complex social learning phenomena can be entirely explained by Pavlovian processes that have little to do with the evolution of sociality. This implies that the ability to learn socially could be an exaptation, not an adaptation, to social life but not that social learning abilities have been left untouched by natural selection. I discuss new empirical evidence for associative learning in social information use, explain how natural selection might facilitate the associative learning process and discuss why such studies are changing the way that we think about social learning. |
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1469-7998 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6015 |
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Author |
Krueger, K.; Farmer, K.; Heinze, J. |
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Title |
The effects of age, rank and neophobia on social learning in horses |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2014 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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17 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
645-655 |
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Keywords |
Horse; Social learning; Sociality; Ecology; Social relationships |
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Abstract |
Social learning is said to meet the demands of complex environments in which individuals compete over resources and co-operate to share resources. Horses (Equus caballus) were thought to lack social learning skills because they feed on homogenously distributed resources with few reasons for conflict. However, the horse’s social environment is complex, which raises the possibility that its capacity for social transfer of feeding behaviour has been underestimated. We conducted a social learning experiment using 30 socially kept horses of different ages. Five horses, one from each group, were chosen as demonstrators, and the remaining 25 horses were designated observers. Observers from each group were allowed to watch their group demonstrator opening a feeding apparatus. We found that young, low ranking, and more exploratory horses learned by observing older members of their own group, and the older the horse, the more slowly it appeared to learn. Social learning may be an adaptive specialisation to the social environment. Older animals may avoid the potential costs of acquiring complex and potentially disadvantageous feeding behaviours from younger group members. We argue that horses show social learning in the context of their social ecology, and that research procedures must take such contexts into account. Misconceptions about the horse’s sociality may have hampered earlier studies. |
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Springer Berlin Heidelberg |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5737 |
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Author |
Choleris, E.; Kavaliers, M. |
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Title |
Social Learning in Animals: Sex Differences and Neurobiological Analysis |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
1999 |
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Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior |
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Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. |
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64 |
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4 |
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767-776 |
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Observational learning; Social learning; Individual learning; Imitation; Social constraints; Social facilitation; male-female differences; Gender differences |
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Abstract |
Social learning where an “individual's behavior is influenced by observation of, or interaction with, another animal or its products” has been extensively documented in a broad variety of species, including humans. Social learning occurs within the complex framework of an animal's social interactions that are markedly affected by factors such as dominance hierarchies, family bonds, age, and sex of the interacting individuals. Moreover, it is clear that social learning is influenced not only by important sexually dimorphic social constraints but also that it involves attention, motivational, and perceptual mechanisms, all of which exhibit substantial male-female differences. Although sex differences have been demonstrated in a wide range of cognitive and behavioral processes, investigations of male-female differences in social learning and its neurobiological substrates have been largely neglected. As such, sex differences in social learning and its neurobiological substrates merit increased attention. This review briefly considers various aspects of the study of social learning in mammals, and indicates where male-female differences have either been described, neglected and, or could have a potential impact. It also describes the results of neurobiological investigations of social learning and considers the relevance of these findings to other sexually dimorphic cognitive processes. |
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refbase @ user @ |
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575 |
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Author |
Griffin, A.S. |
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Title |
Social learning in Indian mynahs, Acridotheres tristis: the role of distress calls |
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Journal Article |
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2008 |
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Animal Behaviour. |
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Anim. Behav. |
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75 |
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1 |
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79-89 |
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Acridotheres tristis; distress vocalizations; head saccades; Indian mynah; predator avoidance learning; social learning |
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Socially acquired predator avoidance is a phenomenon in which individuals acquire an avoidance response towards an initially neutral stimulus after they have experienced it together with the antipredator signals of social companions. Earlier research has established that alarm calls used for intraspecific communication are effective stimuli for triggering acquisition. However, animals produce a large range of other antipredator responses that might engage antipredator learning. Here, I examine the effects of conspecific distress calls, a signal that is produced by birds when restrained by a predator, and that appears to be directed towards predators, rather than conspecifics, on predator avoidance learning in Indian mynahs, Acridotheres tristis. Distress calls reflect high levels of alarm in the caller and should, therefore, mediate robust learning. Experiment 1 revealed that subjects performed higher rates of head movements in response to a previously unfamiliar avian mount after it had been presented simultaneously with playbacks of conspecific distress vocalizations. Experiment 2 revealed that increased rates of head saccades resembled the spontaneous response evoked by a novel stimulus more closely than it resembled the response evoked by a perched raptor, suggesting that distress calls inculcated a visual exploratory response, rather than an antipredator response. While it is usually thought that the level of acquisition in learners follows a simple relationship with the level of alarm shown by demonstrators, the present results suggest that this relationship may be more complex. Antipredator signals with different functions may have differential effects on learners. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4696 |
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Author |
Ahrendt, L.P.; Christensen, J.W.; Ladewig, J. |
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Title |
The ability of horses to learn an instrumental task through social observation |
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Year |
2012 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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Volume |
139 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
105-113 |
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Horse; Social learning; Social interaction; Instrumental task; Investigative behaviour; Aggression |
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The ability of horses to learn through social observation may ease the implementation of new management systems, because the use of automatic feeders etc. by naive horses could be facilitated by observation of experienced horses. However, previous studies found no documentation for observational learning abilities in horses. This study aimed to investigate the ability of horses to learn an instrumental task from a familiar conspecific when social interaction was allowed during the demonstration. Two similar experiments were performed. In the first experiment, Observer horses (n=11) participated in ten successive demonstrations, where a trained Demonstrator opened an operant device by pushing a sliding lid aside with the muzzle in order to obtain a food reward. Immediately after the demonstrations the Observer horses were given the opportunity to operate the device alone. Control horses (n=11) were aware that the device contained food but were presented to the operant device without demonstration of the task. The learning criterion was at least two openings. Accomplishment of and latency to accomplish the learning criterion, and investigative behaviour towards the operant device were recorded. Five Observers and one Control, out of the eleven horses in each treatment group, accomplished the learning criterion. Even though this presents a high odds ratio (OR) in favour of the Observer treatment (OR=7.6), there was no significant difference between the treatment groups (P=0.15). Analysis of investigative behaviour showed, however, that the demonstrations increased the motivation of the Observer horses to investigate the device. Subsequently, a similar experiment was performed in a practical setting with 44 test horses (mixed age, gender and breed). We used the same operant device and the same number and type of demonstrations, although the horses were held on a loose rope to minimise aggression. In this second experiment, six of 23 Observer horses and five of 21 Control horses learned the instrumental task, representing no influence of the demonstration. Thus, this study did not demonstrate an ability of horses to learn an instrumental task through observation. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ S0168-1591(12)00087-1 |
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5773 |
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Author |
Giraldeau, Luc-Alain; Valone, Thomas, J.; Templeton, Jennifer, J. |
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Title |
Potential disadvantages of using socially acquired information |
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Journal Article |
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2002 |
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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Phil. Trans. Biol. Sci. |
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357 |
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1427 |
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1559-1566 |
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Public Information Informational Cascades Social Learning Sampling |
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The acquisition and use of socially acquired information is commonly assumed to be profitable. We challenge this assumption by exploring hypothetical scenarios where the use of such information either provides no benefit or can actually be costly. First, we show that the level of incompatibility between the acquisition of personal and socially acquired information will directly affect the extent to which the use of socially acquired information can be profitable. When these two sources of information cannot be acquired simultaneously, there may be no benefit to socially acquired information. Second, we assume that a solitary individual's behavioural decisions will be based on cues revealed by its own interactions with the environment. However, in many cases, for social animals the only socially acquired information available to individuals is the behavioural actions of others that expose their decisions, rather than the cues on which these decisions were based. We argue that in such a situation the use of socially acquired information can lead to informational cascades that sometimes result in sub-optimal behaviour. From this theory of informational cascades, we predict that when erroneous cascades are costly, individuals should pay attention only to socially generated cues and not behavioural decisions. We suggest three scenarios that might be examples of informational cascades in nature. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4197 |
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