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Author  |
Nissani, M. | ||||
| Title | Do Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) apply causal reasoning to tool-use tasks? | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2006 | Publication | Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes | Abbreviated Journal | J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
| Volume | 32 | Issue | 1 | Pages | 91-96 |
| Keywords | Age Factors; Animals; Behavior, Animal; *Conditioning, Operant; *Decision Making; Discrimination (Psychology); Elephants; Female | ||||
| Abstract | Two experiments addressed contradictory claims about causal reasoning in elephants. In Experiment 1, 4 Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) were pretrained to remove a lid from the top of a bucket and retrieve a food reward. Subsequently, in the first 5 critical trials, when the lid was placed alongside the bucket and no longer obstructed access to the reward, each elephant continued to remove the lid before retrieving the reward. Experiment 2, which involved 11 additional elephants and variations of the original design, yielded similarly counterintuitive observations. Although the results are open to alternative interpretations, they appear more consistent with associative learning than with causal reasoning. Future applications of Fabrean methodologies (J. H. Fabre, 1915) to animal cognition are proposed. | ||||
| Address | Departmetn of Interdisciplinary Studies, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. moti.nissani@wayne.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 | 0097-7403 | ISBN | Medium | ||
| Area | Expedition | Conference | |||
| Notes | PMID:16435969 | Approved | no | ||
| Call Number | Equine Behaviour @ team @ | Serial | 2763 | ||
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