dc.contributor.author |
Taylor, Alexander |
en |
dc.contributor.author |
Medina Rodriguez, FS |
en |
dc.contributor.author |
Holzhaider, Jennifer |
en |
dc.contributor.author |
Hearne, Lindsay |
en |
dc.contributor.author |
Hunt, Gavin |
en |
dc.contributor.author |
Gray, Russell |
en |
dc.date.accessioned |
2012-05-10T20:51:44Z |
en |
dc.date.issued |
2010 |
en |
dc.identifier.citation |
PLOS ONE 5(2):7 pages Article number ARTN e9345 22 Feb 2010 |
en |
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2292/17856 |
en |
dc.description.abstract |
The ability of some bird species to pull up meat hung on a string is a famous example of spontaneous animal problem solving. The ‘‘insight’’ hypothesis claims that this complex behaviour is based on cognitive abilities such as mental scenario building and imagination. An operant conditioning account, in contrast, would claim that this spontaneity is due to each action in string pulling being reinforced by the meat moving closer and remaining closer to the bird on the perch. We presented experienced and naı¨ve New Caledonian crows with a novel, visually restricted string-pulling problem that reduced the quality of visual feedback during string pulling. Experienced crows solved this problem with reduced efficiency and increased errors compared to their performance in standard string pulling. Naı¨ve crows either failed or solved the problem by trial and error learning. However, when visual feedback was available via a mirror mounted next to the apparatus, two naı¨ve crows were able to perform at the same level as the experienced group. Our results raise the possibility that spontaneous string pulling in New Caledonian crows may not be based on insight but on operant conditioning mediated by a perceptual-motor feedback cycle. |
en |
dc.description.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2292/17856 |
en |
dc.publisher |
Public Library of Science |
en |
dc.relation.ispartofseries |
PLOS ONE |
en |
dc.rights |
Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Details obtained from http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/1932-6203/ |
en |
dc.rights.uri |
https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm |
en |
dc.rights.uri |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ |
en |
dc.title |
An investigation into the cognition behind spontaneous string pulling in New Caledonian crows |
en |
dc.type |
Journal Article |
en |
dc.identifier.doi |
10.1371/journal.pone.0009345 |
en |
pubs.issue |
2 |
en |
pubs.volume |
5 |
en |
dc.rights.holder |
Copyright: Public Library of Science |
en |
dc.identifier.pmid |
20179759 |
en |
pubs.author-url |
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0009345 |
en |
dc.rights.accessrights |
http://purl.org/eprint/accessRights/OpenAccess |
en |
pubs.subtype |
Article |
en |
pubs.elements-id |
101861 |
en |
pubs.org-id |
Science |
en |
pubs.org-id |
Psychology |
en |
dc.identifier.eissn |
1932-6203 |
en |
pubs.number |
e9345 |
en |
pubs.record-created-at-source-date |
2010-09-01 |
en |
pubs.dimensions-id |
20179759 |
en |