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Articles 451 - 480 of 614

Full-Text Articles in Comparative Psychology

Convergence Of Complex Cognitive Abilities In Cetaceans And Primates, Lori Marino Jan 2002

Convergence Of Complex Cognitive Abilities In Cetaceans And Primates, Lori Marino

Sentience Collection

What examples of convergence in higher-level complex cognitive characteristics exist in the animal kingdom? In this paper I will provide evidence that convergent intelligence has occurred in two distantly related mammalian taxa. One of these is the order Cetacea (dolphins, whales and porpoises) and the other is our own order Primates, and in particular the suborder anthropoid primates (monkeys, apes, and humans). Despite a deep evolutionary divergence, adaptation to physically dissimilar environments, and very different neuroanatomical organization, some primates and cetaceans show striking convergence in social behavior, artificial ‘language’ comprehension, and self-recognition ability. Taken together, these findings have important implications …

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Cognitive And Communicative Abilities Of Grey Parrots, Irene M. Pepperberg Jan 2002

Cognitive And Communicative Abilities Of Grey Parrots, Irene M. Pepperberg

Sentience Collection

Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) solve various cognitive tasks and acquire and use English speech in ways that often resemble those of very young children. Given that the psittacine brain is organized very differently from that of mammals, these results have intriguing implications for the study and evolution of vocal learning, communication, and cognition.

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Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) Recognize Spatial And Object Correspondences Between A Scale Model And Its Referent, Valerie A. Kuhlmeier, Sarah T. Boysen Jan 2002

Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) Recognize Spatial And Object Correspondences Between A Scale Model And Its Referent, Valerie A. Kuhlmeier, Sarah T. Boysen

Sentience Collection

In the present study, the contributions of spatial and object features to chimpanzees’ comprehension of scale models were examined. Seven chimpanzees that previously demonstrated the ability to use a scale model as an information source for the location of a hidden item were tested under conditions manipulating the feature correspondence and spatial-relational correspondence between objects in the model and an outdoor enclosure. In Experiment 1, subjects solved the task under two conditions in which one object cue (color or shape) was unavailable, but positional cues remained. Additionally, performance was above chance under a third condition in which both types of …

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In Search Of King Solomon’S Ring: Cognitive And Communicative Studies Of Grey Parrots (Psittacus Erithacus), Irene M. Pepperberg Jan 2002

In Search Of King Solomon’S Ring: Cognitive And Communicative Studies Of Grey Parrots (Psittacus Erithacus), Irene M. Pepperberg

Sentience Collection

During the past 24 years, I have used a modeling technique (M/R procedure) to train Grey parrots to use an allospecific code (English speech) referentially; I then use the code to test their cognitive abilities. The oldest bird, Alex, labels more than 50 different objects, 7 colors, 5 shapes, quantities to 6, 3 categories (color, shape, material) and uses ‘no’, ‘come here’, wanna go X’ and ‘want Y’ (X and Y are appropriate location or item labels). He combines labels to identify, request, comment upon or refuse more than 100 items and to alter his environment. He processes queries to …

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The Evolution Of Animal Play, Emotions, And Social Morality: On Science, Theology, Spirituality, Personhood, And Love, Marc Bekoff Dec 2001

The Evolution Of Animal Play, Emotions, And Social Morality: On Science, Theology, Spirituality, Personhood, And Love, Marc Bekoff

Attitudes Towards Animals Collection

My essay first takes me into the arena in which science, spirituality, and theology meet. I comment on the enterprise of science and how scientists could well benefit from reciprocal interactions with theologians and religious leaders. Next, I discuss the evolution of social morality and the ways in which various aspects of social play behavior relate to the notion of “behaving fairly.” The contributions of spiritual and religious perspectives are important in our coming to a fuller understanding of the evolution of morality. I go on to discuss animal emotions, the concept of personhood, and how our special relationships with …

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Interactions Between Shoal Size And Conformity In Guppy Social Foraging, Rachel L. Day, Tom Macdonald, Culum Brown, Kevin N. Laland, Simon M. Reader Nov 2001

Interactions Between Shoal Size And Conformity In Guppy Social Foraging, Rachel L. Day, Tom Macdonald, Culum Brown, Kevin N. Laland, Simon M. Reader

Sentience Collection

Previous experimental studies have established that shoaling fish forage more effectively in large than small groups. We investigated how shoal size affects the foraging efficiency of laboratory populations of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, exposed to different foraging tasks. Experiment 1 confirmed the prediction that in open water the first fish and focal fish of larger shoals locate food faster than in smaller shoals. However, a second experiment, in which shoals of fish were required to swim through a hole in an opaque partition to locate food, found the reverse pattern: smaller shoals learned to complete the task faster than large …

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Familiarity With The Test Environment Improves Escape Responses In The Crimson Spotted Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia Duboulayi, Culum Brown Oct 2001

Familiarity With The Test Environment Improves Escape Responses In The Crimson Spotted Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia Duboulayi, Culum Brown

Sentience Collection

Animals that are familiar with their environment have been reported to have greater survivorship for a number of reasons related to their knowledge of the terrain, which they recall from memory. In an initial experiment rainbowfish significantly improved their escape response towards a novel trawl apparatus over a sequence of five runs. Escape latencies were still low during a subsequent exposure 11 months after the initial exposure. While part of the improvement in escape success was certainly due to learning associated with the location of the escape route, it is likely that this was aided by habituation to the tank …

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Familiarity Facilitates Social Learning Of Foraging Behaviour In The Guppy, Will Swaney, Jeremy Kendal, Hannah Capon, Culum Brown, Kevin N. Laland Sep 2001

Familiarity Facilitates Social Learning Of Foraging Behaviour In The Guppy, Will Swaney, Jeremy Kendal, Hannah Capon, Culum Brown, Kevin N. Laland

Sentience Collection

Previous studies have shown that guppies, Poecilia reticulata, can learn the route to a food source by shoaling with knowledgeable conspecifics, and prefer to shoal with experienced foragers and familiar fish. We tested the hypothesis that guppies would learn more effectively from (1) familiar than unfamiliar demonstrators and (2) well-trained than poorly trained demonstrators. Demonstrator fish were given experience in swimming a route to a food source and then introduced into shoals of untrained observer guppies; the spread of this foraging skill was recorded over 15 trials. The demonstrators were either familiar or unfamiliar to the observers and either well …

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The Effect Of Response Contingencies On Scale Model Task Performance By Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Valerie A. Kuhlmeier, Sarah T. Boysen Sep 2001

The Effect Of Response Contingencies On Scale Model Task Performance By Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Valerie A. Kuhlmeier, Sarah T. Boysen

Sentience Collection

The effects of modified procedures on chimpanzees' (Pan troglodytes) performance in a scale model comprehension task were examined. Seven chimpanzees that previously participated in a task in which they searched an enclosure for a hidden item after watching an experimenter hide a miniature item in the analogous location in a scale model were retested under procedures incorporating response costs. In Experiment 1, chimpanzees were trained under procedures that rewarded only item retrievals occurring on the 1st search attempt. During test trials, 6 chimpanzees performed above chance, including 4 that were previously unsuccessful under the original procedures (V. A. Kuhlmeier, S. …

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Observations Of Scent-Marking And Discriminating Self From Others By A Domestic Dog (Canis Familiaris): Tales Of Displaced Yellow Snow, Marc Bekoff Aug 2001

Observations Of Scent-Marking And Discriminating Self From Others By A Domestic Dog (Canis Familiaris): Tales Of Displaced Yellow Snow, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

Little is known about what stimuli trigger urinating or scent-marking in domestic dogs, Canis familiaris, or their wild relatives. While it is often suggested that the urine of other animals influences urinating and scent-marking patterns in canids, this has not been verified experimentally. To investigate the role of urine in eliciting urinating and marking, in this pilot study I moved urine-saturated snow (‘yellow snow’) from place-to-place during five winters to compare the responses of an adult male domestic dog, Jethro, to his own and others’ urine. Jethro spent less time sniffing his own urine than that of other males or …

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Assessing The ‘Whole Animal’: A Free Choice Profiling Approach, Françoise Wemelsfelder, Tony E.A. Hunter, Michael T. Mendl, Alistair B. Lawrence Aug 2001

Assessing The ‘Whole Animal’: A Free Choice Profiling Approach, Françoise Wemelsfelder, Tony E.A. Hunter, Michael T. Mendl, Alistair B. Lawrence

Sentience Collection

The qualitative assessment of animal behaviour summarizes the different aspects of an animal’s dynamic style of interaction with the environment, using descriptors such as ‘confident’, ‘nervous’, ‘calm’ or ‘excitable’. Scientists frequently use such terms in studies of animal personality and temperament, but, wary of anthropomorphism, are reluctant to do so in studies of animal welfare. We hypothesize that qualitative behaviour assessment, in describing behaviour as an expressive process, may have a stronger observational foundation than is currently recognized, and may be of use as an integrative welfare assessment tool. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the inter- and intraobserver reliability …

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Mammalian Play: Training For The Unexpected, Marek Špinka, Ruth C. Newberry, Marc Bekoff Jun 2001

Mammalian Play: Training For The Unexpected, Marek Špinka, Ruth C. Newberry, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

In this review, we present a new conceptual framework for the study of play behavior, a hitherto puzzling array of seemingly purposeless and unrelated behavioral elements that are recognizable as play throughout the mammalian lineage. Our major new functional hypothesis is that play enables animals to develop flexible kinematic and emotional responses to unexpected events in which they experience a sudden loss of control. Specifically, we propose that play functions to increase the versatility of movements used to recover from sudden shock such as loss of balance and falling over, and to enhance the ability of animals to cope emotionally …

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Mirror Self-Recognition In The Bottlenose Dolphin: A Case Of Cognitive Convergence, Diana Reiss, Lori Marino May 2001

Mirror Self-Recognition In The Bottlenose Dolphin: A Case Of Cognitive Convergence, Diana Reiss, Lori Marino

Sentience Collection

The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror is an exceedingly rare capacity in the animal kingdom. To date, only humans and great apes have shown convincing evidence of mirror self-recognition. Two dolphins were exposed to reflective surfaces, and both demonstrated responses consistent with the use of the mirror to investigate marked parts of the body. This ability to use a mirror to inspect parts of the body is a striking example of evolutionary convergence with great apes and humans.

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Size Matters: Impact Of Item Size And Quantity On Array Choice By Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Sarah T. Boysen, Gary G. Berntson, Kimberly L. Mukobi Mar 2001

Size Matters: Impact Of Item Size And Quantity On Array Choice By Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Sarah T. Boysen, Gary G. Berntson, Kimberly L. Mukobi

Sentience Collection

The authors previously reported that chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) showed a striking bias to select the larger of 2 candy arrays, despite a reversed reward contingency in which the animals received the smaller, nonselected array as a reward, except when Arabic numerals were used as stimuli. A perceptual or incentive-based interference occurred that was overcome by symbolic stimuli. The authors of the present study examined the impact of element size in choice arrays, using 1 to 5 large and small candies. Five test-sophisticated chimpanzees selected an array from the 2 presented during each trial. Their responses were not optimal, as animals …

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Social Play Behaviour: Cooperation, Fairness, Trust, And The Evolution Of Morality, Marc Bekoff Feb 2001

Social Play Behaviour: Cooperation, Fairness, Trust, And The Evolution Of Morality, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

No abstract provided.

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Student Victimization And Its Relation To School Violence, Heidi Gregoire Jan 2001

Student Victimization And Its Relation To School Violence, Heidi Gregoire

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The frequent depiction of school violence in the media today has led some to believe that violence in our schools is an increasing problem. Those who are most prone to be influenced by the media’s perception of school violence may include those most affected by school violence such as parents, educators, and students. This influence may increase parents’ concerns about sending their children to school, and create a fear of going to school on a daily basis in educators and students. Despite such fears, research suggests that school violence is, in fact, decreasing, at least with regard to school shootings. …

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Race Vs. Threat: How Teens Perceive Violence As A Function Of Race, Corey R. Layne Jan 2001

Race Vs. Threat: How Teens Perceive Violence As A Function Of Race, Corey R. Layne

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The relationship between race students’ perceptions of threat was examined using an examiner-made questionnaire with WV 6th, 9th, and 12th grade students. Eleven ambiguous scenarios and eight demographic questions were rated to measure the level of threat perceived by subjects. The results indicated that both Minority and Caucasian students found both black and white students the threatening.

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Animal Suffering: An Invertebrate Perspective, Jennifer A. Mather Jan 2001

Animal Suffering: An Invertebrate Perspective, Jennifer A. Mather

Sentience Collection

Consideration of the welfare of other animals often is anthropocentric, focusing usually on mammals similar to humans. This article argues the necessity of evaluating the extension of such consideration more widely to invertebrates. Although unlike humans, some groups such as cephalopod molluscs probably have the potential for pain and suffering. In addition, a morality of care, rather than one of rights, and the damage humans do to themselves by cruel treatment of animals both argue for the extension of consideration to all animal species. This consideration predicts extension of basic care of cephalopods from simple housing and feeding into areas …

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Modifying Water Nipples For Newborn Pigs, P. A. Phillips, D. Fraser Jan 2001

Modifying Water Nipples For Newborn Pigs, P. A. Phillips, D. Fraser

Learning Ability Collection

The use of bite nipples by piglets during the first six days after birth was monitored by time-lapse video recording. Simple bite nipples, mounted at a downward angle, were not discovered by most piglets within the six days, even after the nipple had been modified to drip water continuously. However, two modifications resulted in most piglets discovering the nipple within three days. These modifications were (1) mounting the nipple close to the floor with an upward angle and (2) adding a short length of chain to the valve lever

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Individual Differences And The Effects Of Time Of Day And Interference On Memory, Keelon L. Hinton Jan 2001

Individual Differences And The Effects Of Time Of Day And Interference On Memory, Keelon L. Hinton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Using the Wickens, Born, Allen (1963) release from proactive interference paradigm, subjects were tested at both a morning and afternoon period in hopes of observing the effects time of day, age, and interference have on working memory. 42 college students and 21 participants over the age of 65 first completed the Horne-Ostberg (1976) questionnaire for morningness-eveningness. While most younger adults were evening and neutral types, the vast majority of older individuals showed a stronger preference for earlier hours of the day. Recall results indicated that recall performance of older participants decreased from morning to afternoon, while recall performance of younger …

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Possible Levels Of Animal Consciousness With Reference To Grey Parrots (Psittacus Erithacus), Irene M. Pepperberg, Spencer K. Lynn Dec 2000

Possible Levels Of Animal Consciousness With Reference To Grey Parrots (Psittacus Erithacus), Irene M. Pepperberg, Spencer K. Lynn

Sentience Collection

Researchers often study nonhuman abilities by assuming their subjects form representations about perceived stimuli and then process such information; why then would consciousness be required, and, if required, at what level? Arguments about nonhuman consciousness range from claims of levels comparable to humans to refutation of any need to study such phenomena. We suggest that (a) species exhibit different levels attuned to their ecological niches, and (b) animals, within their maximum possible level, exhibit different extents of awareness appropriate to particular situations, much like humans (presumably conscious) who often act without conscious awareness of factors controlling their behavior. We propose …

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Spontaneous Discrimination Of Natural Stimuli By Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), David A. Brown, Sarah T. Boysen Dec 2000

Spontaneous Discrimination Of Natural Stimuli By Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), David A. Brown, Sarah T. Boysen

Sentience Collection

Six chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were presented with pairs of color photographic images of 5 different categories of animals (cat, chimp, gorilla, tiger, fish). The subjects responded to each pair using symbols for "same" and "different." Both within- and between-category discriminations were tested, and all chimpanzees classified the image pairs in accordance with the 5 experimenter-defined categories under conditions of nondifferential reinforcement. Although previous studies have demonstrated identification or discrimination of natural categories by nonhuman animals, subjects were typically differentially reinforced for their responses. The present findings demonstrate that chimpanzees can classify natural objects spontaneously and that such classifications may be …

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Animal Minds And Animal Emotions, Marian Stamp Dawkins Dec 2000

Animal Minds And Animal Emotions, Marian Stamp Dawkins

Emotion Collection

The possibility of conscious experiences of emotions in non-human animals has been much less explored than that of conscious experiences associated with carrying out complex cognitive tasks. However, no great cognitive powers are needed to feel hunger or pain and it may be that the capacity to feel emotions is widespread in the animal kingdom. Since plants can show surprisingly sophisticated ‘‘choice’’ and ‘‘decision-making’’ mechanisms and yet we would not wish to imply that they are conscious, attribution of emotions to animals has to be done with care. Whether or not an animal possesses anticipatory mechanisms associated with positive and …

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Sanctions And Nonproliferation Behavior: Missing On Missiles, Ibpp Editor Dec 2000

Sanctions And Nonproliferation Behavior: Missing On Missiles, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes political psychologies supporting United States (US) sanctions-related behavior towards the People's Republic of China's (PRC) exporting of missiles, missile components, and missile technology.

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Animal Emotions: Exploring Passionate Natures, Marc Bekoff Oct 2000

Animal Emotions: Exploring Passionate Natures, Marc Bekoff

Sentience Collection

No abstract provided.

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Primate Numerical Competence: Contributions Toward Understanding Nonhuman Cognition, Sarah T. Boysen, Karen I. Hallberg Jul 2000

Primate Numerical Competence: Contributions Toward Understanding Nonhuman Cognition, Sarah T. Boysen, Karen I. Hallberg

Sentience Collection

Nonhuman primates represent the most significant extant species for comparative studies of cognition, including such complex phenomena as numerical competence, among others. Studies of numerical skills in monkeys and apes have a long, though somewhat sparse history, although questions for current empirical studies remain of great interest to several fields, including comparative, developmental, and cognitive psychology; anthropology; ethology; and philosophy, to name a few. In addition to demonstrated similarities in complex information processing, empirical studies of a variety of potential cognitive limitations or constraints have provided insights into similarities and differences across the primate order, and continue to offer theoretical …

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Mixing At Young Ages Reduces Fighting In Unacquainted Domestic Pigs, Anton D. Pitts, Daniel M. Weary, Edmond A. Pajor, David Fraser Jun 2000

Mixing At Young Ages Reduces Fighting In Unacquainted Domestic Pigs, Anton D. Pitts, Daniel M. Weary, Edmond A. Pajor, David Fraser

Agonistic Behavior Collection

Under normal farming practices, piglets from different litters are often mixed around the time of weaning, and a high incidence of fighting and minor injuries often occur. The aim of this experiment was to determine the effect of age on the incidence of fighting in piglets mixed before weaning, at different ages between 5 and 26 days. We found no significant relationship between age and the likelihood that a pair of piglets would fight during the first 75 min after mixing. However, the duration of the first fight observed increased from 101±38 s at 5 days to 621±278 s at …

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Comparative Analysis Of Irrational Beliefs And Alexithymia To Predict Anxiety, Neuroticism, And Depression, Scott Edward Culhane May 2000

Comparative Analysis Of Irrational Beliefs And Alexithymia To Predict Anxiety, Neuroticism, And Depression, Scott Edward Culhane

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Anxiety, neuroticism and depression are highly studied human disturbances in the field of psychology. There are many theories as to the cause of these distresses. Followers of Albert Ellis' Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy have hypothesized that the maintaining of irrational beliefs causes emotional distress. Others have theorized that a condition known as alexithymia is responsible for emotional distresses. Literally "no words for feelings," alexithymia is a condition where individuals are unable to describe their feelings, they are unable to distinguish between their feelings and bodily sensations, and they have a tendency to overemphasize the concrete details of external events. This …

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Bubble Ring Play Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus): Implications For Cognition, Brenda Mccowan, Lori Marino, Erik Vance, Leah Walke, Diana Reiss Mar 2000

Bubble Ring Play Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus): Implications For Cognition, Brenda Mccowan, Lori Marino, Erik Vance, Leah Walke, Diana Reiss

Sentience Collection

Research on the cognitive capacities of dolphins and other cetaceans (whales and porpoises) has importance for the study of comparative cognition, particularly with other large-brained social mammals, such as primates. One of the areas in which cetaceans can be compared with primates is that of object manipulation and physical causality, for which there is an abundant body of literature in primates. The authors supplemented qualitative observations with statistical methods to examine playful bouts of underwater bubble ring production and manipulation in 4 juvenile male captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). The results are consistent with the hypothesis that dolphins monitor the …

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The Relationship Between Age, Years Of Service, Gender, Education, And Job Satisfaction Among Mental Health Professionals, Veria L. Hicks Jan 2000

The Relationship Between Age, Years Of Service, Gender, Education, And Job Satisfaction Among Mental Health Professionals, Veria L. Hicks

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The study explored the relationship between age, years of service, gender, education, and job satisfaction among mental health professionals. Thirty subjects (15 males and 15 females) were involved in the study. The results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated no significant relationship between age, years of service, gender, education and job satisfaction among mental health professionals. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

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