Alejandra Cespedes-Gonzalez, Antonio J Osuna-Mascaro, Mark O'Hara, Theresa Roessler, Leo Hanon, Alice M I Auersperg
{"title":"The effect of four different object properties on latency to approach in Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana).","authors":"Alejandra Cespedes-Gonzalez, Antonio J Osuna-Mascaro, Mark O'Hara, Theresa Roessler, Leo Hanon, Alice M I Auersperg","doi":"10.1037/xan0000373","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Neophobia and neophilia can be lifesaving as they can facilitate foraging while avoiding predation or intoxication. We investigated the extent to which Goffin's cockatoos (<i>Cacatua goffiniana</i>) exhibit ecollogically relevant and quantifiable neophobic responses toward specific object properties. Twelve cockatoos were presented with 12 novel objects grouped into four distinct categories with unique features: size, color, reflective capacity, and shape. The cockatoos were tested by measuring their latency to approach a high-quality food reward for both novel and control scenarios. Age and sex did not affect the latency to approach food in the presence of a novel object in this species. Additionally, we found no significant differences between the objects of the reflective and color categories. This result is likely due to the plasticity of neophobic behavior related to the benefits and costs of approaching novel stimuli. The cockatoos were significantly slower to approach food in the presence of objects larger than their body size than objects of a similar or smaller size, a phenomenon possibly explained by the increased risk of approaching unknown objects large enough to be a potential predator. They were also significantly more hesitant to approach food in the presence of elongated objects, a phenomenon potentially explained by an ecologically relevant avoidance of snakes. The extent of this neophobia was statistically similar at a group level, indicating that avoidance of elongated and large objects could be an adaptive response aiding survival under natural circumstances and that snakes may impose strong selective pressures on this species. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":54259,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Psychology-Animal Learning and Cognition","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Experimental Psychology-Animal Learning and Cognition","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1037/xan0000373","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/2/29 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Neophobia and neophilia can be lifesaving as they can facilitate foraging while avoiding predation or intoxication. We investigated the extent to which Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana) exhibit ecollogically relevant and quantifiable neophobic responses toward specific object properties. Twelve cockatoos were presented with 12 novel objects grouped into four distinct categories with unique features: size, color, reflective capacity, and shape. The cockatoos were tested by measuring their latency to approach a high-quality food reward for both novel and control scenarios. Age and sex did not affect the latency to approach food in the presence of a novel object in this species. Additionally, we found no significant differences between the objects of the reflective and color categories. This result is likely due to the plasticity of neophobic behavior related to the benefits and costs of approaching novel stimuli. The cockatoos were significantly slower to approach food in the presence of objects larger than their body size than objects of a similar or smaller size, a phenomenon possibly explained by the increased risk of approaching unknown objects large enough to be a potential predator. They were also significantly more hesitant to approach food in the presence of elongated objects, a phenomenon potentially explained by an ecologically relevant avoidance of snakes. The extent of this neophobia was statistically similar at a group level, indicating that avoidance of elongated and large objects could be an adaptive response aiding survival under natural circumstances and that snakes may impose strong selective pressures on this species. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition publishes experimental and theoretical studies concerning all aspects of animal behavior processes.