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SYLVAIN GAGNON, F. R. A. N. C. O. I. S. Y. D. O. R. E. (1993). Search behavior of dogs (Canis familiaris) in invisible displacement problems. Anim Learn. & Behav., 21(3), 246–254.
Abstract: Gagnon and Dor (1992) showed that domestic dogs are able to solve a Piagetian object permanence
task called the invisible displacement problem. A toy is hidden in a container which is
moved behind a screen where the toy is removed and left. Dogs make more errors in these problems
than they do in visible displacement tests, in which the object is hidden directly behind
the target screen. In Experiment 1, we examinedcomponents ofthe standard procedure of invisible
displacements that may make encoding or retention of the hiding location more difficult than
it is in visible displacements. In Experiment 2, we compared dogs performances in visible and
invisible displacement problems when delays of 0, 10, and 20 sec were introduced between the
objects final disappearance and the subjects release. The results revealed that dogs poorer performance
in invisible displacement tests is related to the complex sequence of events that have
to be encoded or remembered as well as to a difficulty in representing the position change that
is signaled, but not directly perceived.
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Timberlake, W. (1993). Animal Behavior: A Continuing Synthesis. Annual Review of Psychology, 44(1), 675–706.
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Escos, J., Alados, C. L., & Boza, J. (1993). Leadership in a domestic goat herd. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 38(1), 41–47.
Abstract: This study reports on leadership behavior in a domestic goat group (370 animals) moving from night-time areas to grazing areas. Of the adult females which occupied leadership positons, all of them were born in the study area. Also, they were individuals with more relatives alive in the group (according to matrilineal kinship) than the rest, but they did not show special physical characteristics.
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Pickerel, T. M., Crowell-Davis, S. L., Caudle, A. B., & Estep, D. Q. (1993). Sexual preference of mares (Equus caballus) for individual stallions. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 38(1), 1–13.
Abstract: Eight mares were tested to determine if they remained near one of two stallions longer than would be expected if association was random. Six stallions were paired in 30 combinations and each mare was tested 30 times. The mares (Equus caballus) demonstrated a definite preference for individual stallions throughout the breeding season. This preference was influenced by the estrous state of the mare. During estrus, mares' preferences for stallions were positively correlated with the rate at which a given stallion vocalized. During diestrus, mares spent significantly less time in the proximity of stallions and did not exhibit any preference for individual stallions.
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Hall, C., Crowell-Davis, S. L., & Warren, R. J. (1993). Maternal and developmental behavior of the feral horses of Cumberland Island, Georgia. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 37(1), 85.
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McCall, C. A., Salters, M. A., & Simpson, S. M. (1993). Relationship between number of conditioning trials per training session and avoidance learning in horses. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 36(4), 291–299.
Abstract: Sixteen horses were used to determine if number of trials given per training session (5, 10, 15 or 20) affected learning performance in an avoidance conditioning task. The horse had to move from one side of a test pen to the other during an auditory cue presentation to avoid aversive stimulation. A pen 8 mx3.6 m, divided into two equal sections by a 13-cm diameter plastic pipe lying on the ground, was used as the test pen. Painted plywood panels were fastened to the fence in half the pen to help horses distinguish visually between the two parts. A 10-s auditory cue was used as a signal for horses to move from one side of the test pen to the other. A 20-s intertrial interval was used. Training sessions were conducted every third day. Each trial was recorded as an avoidance (the horse completed the task during auditory cue presentation and avoided aversive stimulus) or an error (the horse received aversive stimulus). After completing ten consecutive avoidances (criterion), the horse was removed from the study. Numbers of training sessions, trials, avoidances and errors until reaching criterion were recorded for each horse. Horses varied greatly within these variables with ranges of 3-18 sessions, 37-121 trials, 20-68 avoidances and 17-53 errors to criterion. No differences were detected (P>0.05) in the number of conditioning trials per training session (treatment) for the mean number of trials, avoidances or errors to criterion. Number of training sessions to criterion differed (P<0.01) among treatments, indicating that an optimum number of learning trials per training session might exist. Mean sessions to criterion for horses receiving 5, 10, 15 and 20 trials per session were 15.1+/-1.3, 5.8+/-1.1, 5.3+/-1.1 and 4.6+/-1.1, respectively. Regression analysis indicated that 16.2 trials per training session would minimize number of sessions to criterion. Although it is widely assumed that learning efficiency in horses is decreased when intense activity is concentrated into a small number of sessions, these results indicate that moderate repetition of training activities is needed for efficient learning.
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Mal, M. E., McCall, C. A., Newland, C., & Cummins, K. A. (1993). Evaluation of a one-trial learning apparatus to test learning ability in weanling horses. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 35(4), 305–311.
Abstract: Fourteen Arabian foals were used to determine if a one-trial appetitive conditioning task, developed for laboratory rats, could be adapted for use in equine learning research. The learning apparatus consisted of a 1.5 m x 0.6 m wooden grid containing 40 compartments. Seven foals received a complete learning test which consisted of placing a foal in a pen with the learning apparatus on one wall, recording the foal's behavior for 5 min and then placing a food reinforcer in a target compartment (TC). After location of the food, the foal's behavior was recorded for an additional 5 min. Total visits made to the apparatus and compartments visited by the foal were recorded. The remaining seven foals received a test in which no reinforcer was placed in the TC. These foals were re-tested the next day with reinforcement. After location of the food reinforcer, all foals exhibited more visits to the apparatus, visits to the TC, visits one compartment from the TC, and visits greater than one and less than or equal to two compartments from the TC (P<0.05). Mean distance of visits from the TC decreased after location of the reinforcer (P<0.05). Increased frequency of visits to the apparatus and concentration of visits around the TC after finding the reinforcer suggest that foals had learned the location of the reinforcer. Results suggest that a one-trial appetitive conditioning test may be applicable in equine learning research.
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Veissier, I. (1993). Observational learning in cattle. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 35(3), 235–243.
Abstract: Four experiments were designed to find evidence of observational learning in cattle. The experiments were run on ten experimental heifers, each observing a demonstrator mate performing a task, and on ten control heifers, each observing a non-demonstrator mate. The mates and observers were separated by wire netting in Experiments 1-3, but were in the same room in Experiment 4. The task to be learned was to push a panel to get food into a box. All naive animals were able to observe while their mate performed the task. The observers in Experiments 1 and 4 were Salers heifers that had no prior experience of the testing room; those in Experiment 2 were Salers heifers that were accustomed to the room; those in Experiment 3 were Aubrac or Limousin heifers that had already eaten in the room.
The behaviour of the observers was influenced by their mates: activity at or near the boxes was enhanced by the presence of demonstrators in Experiment 2 (box contacts: 38.0 +/- 16.2 vs. 22.1 +/- 11.9 for experimental and control heifers, respectively; P<0.05), while activity in other parts of the room in Experiment 3 was enhanced when non-demonstrator mates were present (wall sniffing: 5.4 +/- 13.9 vs. 13.9 +/- 13.7; P<0.05). Overall, 26 experimental heifers vs. 19 controls learned the task (P>0.05). The time spent eating was longer when the observer only had visual contact with a demonstrator (Experiment 1: 15.9 +/- 1.6 vs. 11.6 +/- 1.8 min), but was lower when physical contacts with the demonstrator were possible (Experiment 4: 4.6 +/- 8.8 vs. 5.4 +/- 2.2 min; P<0.05).
Ten out of the 11 Limousin heifers learned the task, compared with only three out of the nine Aubrac heifers (P<0.05). The latter spent more time near the door and sniffed the walls more often than the former (2.0 +/- 1.9 vs. 0.4 +/- 0.6 min, P<0.05, and 18.1 +/- 13.4 vs. 2.7 +/- 6.5 min, P<0.01), as though they were trying to flee the situation.
When animals observed a demonstrator, their attention was drawn to stimuli involved in the task but acquisition of knowledge was not greatly improved.
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Poletaeva, I. I., Popova, N. V., & Romanova, L. G. (1993). Genetic aspects of animal reasoning. Behavior Genetics, 23(5), 467–475.
Abstract: This paper reviews the investigations of Prof. L. V. Krushinsky and his colleagues into the genetics of complex behaviors in mammals. The ability of animals to extrapolate the direction of a food stimulus movement was investigated in wild and domesticated foxes (including different fur-color mutants), wild brown rats, and laboratory rats and mice. Wild animals (raised in the laboratory) were shown to be superior to their respective domesticated forms on performance of the extrapolation task, especially in their scores for the first presentation, in which no previous experience could be used. Laboratory rats and mice demonstrated a low level of extrapolation performance. This means that only a few laboratory animals were capable of solving the task, i.e., the percentage of correct solutions was equivalent to chance. The brain weight selection program resulted in two mice strains with a 20% (90-mg) difference in brain weight. Ability to solve the extrapolation task was present in low-brain weight mice in generations 7-11 but declined with further selection. Investigation of extrapolation ability in mice with different chromosomal anomalies demonstrated that animals with Robertsonian translocations Rb(8,17) 1lem and Rb(8,17) 6Sic were capable of solving this task in a statistically significant majority of cases, while mice with fusion of other chromosomes, as well as CBA normal karyotype mice, performed no better than expected by chance. Mice with two types of partial trisomies and animals homo- and heterozygous for translocations were also tested. Although mice with T6 trisomy performed no better than expected by chance, animals with trisomy for a chromosome 17 fragment solved the task successfully. Thus, a genetic component underlying the ability to solve the extrapolation task was demonstrated in three animal species. The extrapolation task in animals is considered to reveal a general capacity for elementary reasoning. The genetic basis of this capacity is very complex.
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Byrne, R. W. (1993). Do larger brains mean greater intelligence? Behav. Brain Sci., 16(4), 696–697.
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