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Author Paz-y-Miño C. G.; Bond, A.B.; Kamil, A.C.; Balda, R.P. doi  openurl
  Title Pinyon jays use transitive inference to predict social dominance Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature  
  Volume 430 Issue 7001 Pages 778-781  
  Keywords Animals; Cognition/*physiology; Group Structure; Male; *Social Dominance; Songbirds/*physiology  
  Abstract Living in large, stable social groups is often considered to favour the evolution of enhanced cognitive abilities, such as recognizing group members, tracking their social status and inferring relationships among them. An individual's place in the social order can be learned through direct interactions with others, but conflicts can be time-consuming and even injurious. Because the number of possible pairwise interactions increases rapidly with group size, members of large social groups will benefit if they can make judgments about relationships on the basis of indirect evidence. Transitive reasoning should therefore be particularly important for social individuals, allowing assessment of relationships from observations of interactions among others. Although a variety of studies have suggested that transitive inference may be used in social settings, the phenomenon has not been demonstrated under controlled conditions in animals. Here we show that highly social pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) draw sophisticated inferences about their own dominance status relative to that of strangers that they have observed interacting with known individuals. These results directly demonstrate that animals use transitive inference in social settings and imply that such cognitive capabilities are widespread among social species.  
  Address Center for Avian Cognition, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title (up)  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15306809 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @; Equine Behaviour @ team @ room B 3.029 Serial 352  
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