1
|
Miller R, Davies JR, Schiestl M, Garcia-Pelegrin E, Gray RD, Taylor AH, Clayton NS. Social influences on delayed gratification in New Caledonian crows and Eurasian jays. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0289197. [PMID: 38055711 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Self-control underlies goal-directed behaviour in humans and other animals. Delayed gratification - a measure of self-control - requires the ability to tolerate delays and/or invest more effort to obtain a reward of higher value over one of lower value, such as food or mates. Social context, in particular, the presence of competitors, may influence delayed gratification. We adapted the 'rotating-tray' paradigm, where subjects need to forgo an immediate, lower-quality (i.e. less preferred) reward for a delayed, higher-quality (i.e. more preferred) one, to test social influences on delayed gratification in two corvid species: New Caledonian crows and Eurasian jays. We compared choices for immediate vs. delayed rewards while alone, in the presence of a competitive conspecific and in the presence of a non-competitive conspecific. We predicted that, given the increased risk of losing a reward with a competitor present, both species would similarly, flexibly alter their choices in the presence of a conspecific compared to when alone. We found that species differed: jays were more likely to select the immediate, less preferred reward than the crows. We also found that jays were more likely to select the immediate, less preferred reward when a competitor or non-competitor was present than when alone, or when a competitor was present compared to a non-competitor, while the crows selected the delayed, highly preferred reward irrespective of social presence. We discuss our findings in relation to species differences in socio-ecological factors related to adult sociality and food-caching (storing). New Caledonian crows are more socially tolerant and moderate cachers, while Eurasian jays are highly territorial and intense cachers that may have evolved under the social context of cache pilfering and cache protection strategies. Therefore, flexibility (or inflexibility) in delay of gratification under different social contexts may relate to the species' social tolerance and related risk of competition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rachael Miller
- School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - James R Davies
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Martina Schiestl
- Faculty for Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Science, Brno, South Moravia, Czech Republic
| | | | - Russell D Gray
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society, Jena, Germany
| | - Alex H Taylor
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Nicola S Clayton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Arseneau-Robar TJM, Anderson KA, Vasey EN, Sicotte P, Teichroeb JA. Think Fast!: Vervet Monkeys Assess the Risk of Being Displaced by a Dominant Competitor When Making Foraging Decisions. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.775288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Foraging animals need to quickly assess the costs and benefits of different foraging decisions, including resource quantity, quality, preference, ease of access, dispersion, distance, and predation risk. Social animals also need to take social context into account and adapt foraging strategies that maximize net resource intake and minimize contest competition with conspecifics. We used an experimental approach to investigate how social context impacts wild vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) foraging decisions in a multi-destination pentagon array. We baited four platforms with less-preferred corn and one platform with a larger, preferred resource (half banana) that required handling time. We ran over 1,000 trials and found that when monkeys foraged alone, they usually took the path that minimized travel distance but prioritized the preferred-food platform when in competition. However, the foraging strategy chosen by low-ranking individuals depended on the handling skill of the decision maker (i.e., time it would take them to retrieve the banana), the relative rank of their audience members (i.e., who has priority-of-access to resources), and the distance audience members were from the experiment site (i.e., their travel time). When the risk of being displaced by a dominant competitor was low (because they were far away and/or because the decision-maker was skilled in retrieving the banana), low-ranking individuals chose a route that minimized travel costs. Conversely, when the risk of losing food to a dominant competitor was high, decision-makers rushed for the preferred-food platform at the onset of the trial. When the risk of displacement was moderate because a dominant audience member was at least 50 m away, low-ranking individuals partly prioritized the preferred-food platform but took the time to stop for one platform of corn on the way. This strategy increased the total amount of food obtained during the trial. These findings suggest that lower-ranking individuals, who experienced high contest competition at the foraging experiment, calculated the risk of being displaced by a dominant competitor when making foraging decisions. This experiment demonstrates that vervets go through a complex decision-making process that simultaneously considers the profitability of different foraging decisions and their social context.
Collapse
|
3
|
Kret ME, Massen JJM, de Waal FBM. My Fear Is Not, and Never Will Be, Your Fear: On Emotions and Feelings in Animals. AFFECTIVE SCIENCE 2022; 3:182-189. [PMID: 36042781 PMCID: PMC9382921 DOI: 10.1007/s42761-021-00099-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Do nonhuman animals (henceforth, animals) have emotions, and if so, are these similar to ours? This opinion piece aims to add to the recent debate about this question and provides a critical re-evaluation of what can be concluded about animal and human emotions. Emotions, and their cognitive interpretation, i.e., feelings, serve important survival functions. Emotions, we believe, can exist without feelings and are unconsciously influencing our behavior more than we think, and possibly more so than feelings do. Given that emotions are expressed in body and brain, they can be inferred from these measures. We view feelings primarily as private states, which may be similar across closely related species but remain mostly inaccessible to science. Still, combining data acquired through behavioral observation with data obtained from noninvasive techniques (e.g., eyetracking, thermography, hormonal samples) and from cognitive tasks (e.g., decision-making paradigms, cognitive bias, attentional bias) provides new information about the inner states of animals, and possibly about their feelings as well. Given that many other species show behavioral, neurophysiological, hormonal, and cognitive responses to valenced stimuli equivalent to human responses, it seems logical to speak of animal emotions and sometimes even of animal feelings. At the very least, the contemporary multi-method approach allows us to get closer than ever before. We conclude with recommendations on how the field should move forward.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariska E. Kret
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Comparative Psychology & Affective Neuroscience Lab, Cognitive Psychology Department, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jorg J. M. Massen
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Frans B. M. de Waal
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Psychology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Khvatov IA, Smirnova AA, Samuleeva MV, Ershov EV, Buinitskaya SD, Kharitonov AN. Hooded Crows (Corvus cornix) May Be Aware of Their Own Body Size. Front Psychol 2021; 12:769397. [PMID: 34975660 PMCID: PMC8716556 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.769397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Body-awareness is one of the manifestations of self-awareness, expressed in the ability of people and animals to represent their own body physical properties. Relatively little work has been devoted to this phenomenon in comparison with the studies of the ability of self-recognition in the mirror, and most studies have been conducted on mammals and human infants. Crows are known to be “clever” birds, so we investigated whether hooded crows (Corvus cornix) may be aware of their own body size. We set up an experimental design in which the crows had to pass through one of three openings to reach the bait. In the first experiment, we studied whether crows prefer a larger hole if all the three are suitable for passage, and what other predictors influence their choice. In the second experiment, we assessed the ability of the crows to select a single passable hole out of three on the first attempt, even though the area of the former was smaller than that of the other two. The results of the first experiment suggest that when choosing among three passable holes, crows prefer those holes that require less effort from them, e.g., they do not need to crouch or make other additional movements. In the second experiment, three of the five crows reliably more often chose a single passable hole on the first try, despite its smaller size. We believe that these results suggest that hooded crows may be aware of their own body size.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ivan A. Khvatov
- Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, Moscow, Russia
- *Correspondence: Ivan A. Khvatov,
| | - Anna A. Smirnova
- Department of Higher Nervous Activity, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Maria V. Samuleeva
- Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, Moscow, Russia
- Department of Higher Nervous Activity, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Svetlana D. Buinitskaya
- Department of Higher Nervous Activity, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexander N. Kharitonov
- Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, Moscow, Russia
- Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Institute of Experimental Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Zeiträg C, Jacobs I. The elusive perspective of a food thief. eLife 2021; 10:74048. [PMID: 34677128 PMCID: PMC8536253 DOI: 10.7554/elife.74048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Eurasian jays fail to take into account the point of view and desire of other jays when hiding food they can eat later.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Zeiträg
- Department of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Ivo Jacobs
- Department of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Amodio P, Farrar BG, Krupenye C, Ostojić L, Clayton NS. Little evidence that Eurasian jays protect their caches by responding to cues about a conspecific's desire and visual perspective. eLife 2021; 10:69647. [PMID: 34505575 PMCID: PMC8536255 DOI: 10.7554/elife.69647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Eurasian jays have been reported to protect their caches by responding to cues about either the visual perspective or current desire of an observing conspecific, similarly to other corvids. Here, we used established paradigms to test whether these birds can - like humans - integrate multiple cues about different mental states and perform an optimal response accordingly. Across five experiments, which also include replications of previous work, we found little evidence that our jays adjusted their caching behaviour in line with the visual perspective and current desire of another agent, neither by integrating these social cues nor by responding to only one type of cue independently. These results raise questions about the reliability of the previously reported effects and highlight several key issues affecting reliability in comparative cognition research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Piero Amodio
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Napoli, Italy
| | - Benjamin G Farrar
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education (IGDORE), Sweden, Sweden
| | - Christopher Krupenye
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States.,Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
| | - Ljerka Ostojić
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
| | - Nicola S Clayton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Birch J, Schnell AK, Clayton NS. Dimensions of Animal Consciousness. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:789-801. [PMID: 32830051 PMCID: PMC7116194 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
How does consciousness vary across the animal kingdom? Are some animals 'more conscious' than others? This article presents a multidimensional framework for understanding interspecies variation in states of consciousness. The framework distinguishes five key dimensions of variation: perceptual richness, evaluative richness, integration at a time, integration across time, and self-consciousness. For each dimension, existing experiments that bear on it are reviewed and future experiments are suggested. By assessing a given species against each dimension, we can construct a consciousness profile for that species. On this framework, there is no single scale along which species can be ranked as more or less conscious. Rather, each species has its own distinctive consciousness profile.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Birch
- Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK.
| | - Alexandra K Schnell
- Comparative Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Nicola S Clayton
- Comparative Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Schnell AK, Amodio P, Boeckle M, Clayton NS. How intelligent is a cephalopod? Lessons from comparative cognition. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 96:162-178. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 08/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Piero Amodio
- Department of Psychology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn Naples Italy
| | - Markus Boeckle
- Department of Psychology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- Department of Cognitive Biology University of Vienna Vienna Austria
- Karl Landsteiner University of Health Science Krems an der Donau Austria
| | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Brecht KF, Nieder A. Parting self from others: Individual and self-recognition in birds. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 116:99-108. [PMID: 32534901 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Revised: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Individual recognition is the ability to differentiate between conspecifics based on their individual features. It forms the basis of many complex communicative and social behaviours. Here, we review studies investigating individual recognition in the auditory and visual domain in birds. It is well established that auditory signals are used by many birds to discriminate conspecifics. In songbirds, the neuronal structures underpinning auditory recognition are associated with the song system. Individual recognition in the visual domain has mainly been explored in chickens and pigeons, and is less well understood. Currently it is unknown which visual cues birds use to identify conspecifics, and whether they have cortical areas dedicated to processing individual features. Moreover, whether birds can recognise themselves visually, as evidenced by mirror self-recognition, remains controversial. In the auditory domain, the responses of neurons in the song system suggest identification of the bird's own song. The surveyed behavioural and neural findings can provide a framework for more controlled investigations of individual recognition in birds and other species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katharina F Brecht
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Miller R, Gruber R, Frohnwieser A, Schiestl M, Jelbert SA, Gray RD, Boeckle M, Taylor AH, Clayton NS. Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0219874. [PMID: 32160191 PMCID: PMC7065838 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to make profitable decisions in natural foraging contexts may be influenced by an additional requirement of tool-use, due to increased levels of relational complexity and additional work-effort imposed by tool-use, compared with simply choosing between an immediate and delayed food item. We examined the flexibility for making the most profitable decisions in a multi-dimensional tool-use task, involving different apparatuses, tools and rewards of varying quality, in 3-5-year-old children, adult humans and tool-making New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides). We also compared our results to previous studies on habitually tool-making orangutans (Pongo abelii) and non-tool-making Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana). Adult humans, cockatoos and crows, but not children and orangutans, did not select a tool when it was not necessary, which was the more profitable choice in this situation. Adult humans, orangutans and cockatoos, but not crows and children, were able to refrain from selecting non-functional tools. By contrast, the birds, but not the primates tested, struggled to attend to multiple variables-where two apparatuses, two tools and two reward qualities were presented simultaneously-without extended experience. These findings indicate: (1) in a similar manner to humans and orangutans, New Caledonian crows and Goffin's cockatoos can flexibly make profitable decisions in some decision-making tool-use tasks, though the birds may struggle when tasks become more complex; (2) children and orangutans may have a bias to use tools in situations where adults and other tool-making species do not.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rachael Miller
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (RM); (AF)
| | - Romana Gruber
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland Central, New Zealand
| | - Anna Frohnwieser
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (RM); (AF)
| | - Martina Schiestl
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland Central, New Zealand
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society, Jena, Germany
| | - Sarah A. Jelbert
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
| | - Russell D. Gray
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland Central, New Zealand
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society, Jena, Germany
| | - Markus Boeckle
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
| | - Alex H. Taylor
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland Central, New Zealand
| | - Nicola S. Clayton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Farrar BG, Boeckle M, Clayton NS. Replications in Comparative Cognition: What Should We Expect and How Can We Improve? ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND COGNITION 2020; 7:1-22. [PMID: 32626823 PMCID: PMC7334049 DOI: 10.26451/abc.07.01.02.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Direct replication studies follow an original experiment's methods as closely as possible. They provide information about the reliability and validity of an original study's findings. The present paper asks what comparative cognition should expect if its studies were directly replicated, and how researchers can use this information to improve the reliability of future research. Because published effect sizes are likely overestimated, comparative cognition researchers should not expect findings with p-values just below the significance level to replicate consistently. Nevertheless, there are several statistical and design features that can help researchers identify reliable research. However, researchers should not simply aim for maximum replicability when planning studies; comparative cognition faces strong replicability-validity and replicability-resource trade-offs. Next, the paper argues that it may not even be possible to perform truly direct replication studies in comparative cognition because of: 1) a lack of access to the species of interest; 2) real differences in animal behavior across sites; and 3) sample size constraints producing very uncertain statistical estimates, meaning that it will often not be possible to detect statistical differences between original and replication studies. These three reasons suggest that many claims in the comparative cognition literature are practically unfalsifiable, and this presents a challenge for cumulative science in comparative cognition. To address this challenge, comparative cognition can begin to formally assess the replicability of its findings, improve its statistical thinking and explore new infrastructures that can help to form a field that can create and combine the data necessary to understand how cognition evolves.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Markus Boeckle
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Deparmtent of Psychology and Psychodynamics, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, St. Pölten, Austria
| | | |
Collapse
|
12
|
Wilkins C, Clayton N. Reflections on the spoon test. Neuropsychologia 2019; 134:107221. [PMID: 31586552 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2019] [Revised: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 09/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we shall use Tulving's seminal empirical and theoretical research including the 'Spoon Test' to explore memory and mental time travel and its origins and role in planning for the future. We will review the comparative research on future planning and episodic foresight in pre-verbal children and non-verbal animals to explore how this may be manifest as wordless thoughts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Clive Wilkins
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Nicola Clayton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Krupenye C, Call J. Theory of mind in animals: Current and future directions. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2019; 10:e1503. [DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Revised: 04/03/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Josep Call
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience University of St Andrews St Andrews UK
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Brecht KF, Ostojić L, Legg EW, Clayton NS. Difficulties when using video playback to investigate social cognition in California scrub-jays ( Aphelocoma californica). PeerJ 2018; 6:e4451. [PMID: 29576946 PMCID: PMC5857174 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research has suggested that videos can be used to experimentally manipulate social stimuli. In the present study, we used the California scrub-jays' cache protection strategies to assess whether video playback can be used to simulate conspecifics in a social context. In both the lab and the field, scrub-jays are known to exhibit a range of behaviours to protect their caches from potential pilferage by a conspecific, for example by hiding food in locations out of the observer's view or by re-caching previously made caches once the observer has left. Here, we presented scrub-jays with videos of a conspecific observer as well as two non-social conditions during a caching period and assessed whether they would cache out of the observer's "view" (Experiment 1) or would re-cache their caches once the observer was no longer present (Experiment 2). In contrast to previous studies using live observers, the scrub-jays' caching and re-caching behaviour was not influenced by whether the observer was present or absent. These findings suggest that there might be limitations in using video playback of social agents to mimic real-life situations when investigating corvid decision making.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katharina F Brecht
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ljerka Ostojić
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Edward W Legg
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Nicola S Clayton
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Kelley LA, Clayton NS. California scrub-jays reduce visual cues available to potential pilferers by matching food colour to caching substrate. Biol Lett 2017; 13:rsbl.2017.0242. [DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Some animals hide food to consume later; however, these caches are susceptible to theft by conspecifics and heterospecifics. Caching animals can use protective strategies to minimize sensory cues available to potential pilferers, such as caching in shaded areas and in quiet substrate. Background matching (where object patterning matches the visual background) is commonly seen in prey animals to reduce conspicuousness, and caching animals may also use this tactic to hide caches, for example, by hiding coloured food in a similar coloured substrate. We tested whether California scrub-jays (
Aphelocoma californica
) camouflage their food in this way by offering them caching substrates that either matched or did not match the colour of food available for caching. We also determined whether this caching behaviour was sensitive to social context by allowing the birds to cache when a conspecific potential pilferer could be both heard and seen (acoustic and visual cues present), or unseen (acoustic cues only). When caching events could be both heard and seen by a potential pilferer, birds cached randomly in matching and non-matching substrates. However, they preferentially hid food in the substrate that matched the food colour when only acoustic cues were present. This is a novel cache protection strategy that also appears to be sensitive to social context. We conclude that studies of cache protection strategies should consider the perceptual capabilities of the cacher and potential pilferers.
Collapse
|