Flavor avoidance expressed in grooming by pine voles (Microtus pinetorum): Importance of context and hormonal factors

Mason, J M; Reidinger, Russell F.; Katz, Yair

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(85)90269-0

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Specifically, autogrooming enhances animals' defense against physical threats to survival such as ectoparasites, contaminants, bacteria, and odors that attract predators (Feusner et al, 2009). It is a basic, unlearned behavior, capable of overriding learned behaviors like conditioned flavor avoidance (e.g., among pine voles and rats; Mason et al, 1985;Reidinger et al, 1982). Autogrooming has also been observed as a displacement activity when conflicting behavioral systems are activated or when an activated behavioral routine is blocked in an animal (e.g., honeybee, pigeon, rhesus monkey; Delius et al, 2010;Diezinger & Anderson, 1986;Pflumm, 1985), with the potential function of stress reduction.…”

Section: Animal Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Actual Cleaning and Simulated Cleaning Attenuate Psychological and Physiological Effects of Stressful Events

Lee

Millet

Grinstein

et al. 2022

Social Psychological and Personality Science

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The human mind harbors various mechanisms for coping with stress, but what role does physical behavior play? Inspired by ethological observations of autogrooming activity across species, we offer a general hypothesis: cleaning attenuates effects of stressful events. Preregistered behavioral and psychophysiological experiments ( N = 3,066 in United Kingdom, United States, and Canada) found that (a) concrete visual simulation of cleaning behavior alleviated residual anxiety from a stress-inducing physical scene, an effect distinct from touch, and (b) actual cleaning behavior enhanced adaptive cardiovascular reactivity to a highly stressful context of social performance/evaluation, which provides the first physiological evidence for the attenuation of stress-related effects by cleaning. Overall, actual cleaning and simulated cleaning attenuate effects of physical or psychological stressors, even when they have nothing to do with contamination or disease and would not be resolved by cleaning. Daily cleaning behavior may facilitate coping with stressors like physical risks and psychological threats to the self.

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Section: Animal Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Actual Cleaning and Simulated Cleaning Attenuate Psychological and Physiological Effects of Stressful Events

Lee

Millet

Grinstein

et al. 2022

Social Psychological and Personality Science

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“…Beyond morality and disgust, studies of animal behavior have shown that stressors such as loud noises and conspecifics' screams elicit self-cleansing behavior among many species (e.g., pine voles, rats, primates; Leung & Borst, 1987;Mason et al, 1985;Reidinger et al, 1982;Spruijt et al, 1992). Dovetailing the link between stress and cleansing in animals, recent human experiments have found that cleansing reduces the affective and physiological effects of stressful events (S. W. S. Lee, Millet, et al, 2023), regardless of whether people actually engage in cleansing behavior or merely simulate it in their minds.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Wipe it off: A meta-analytic review of the psychological consequences and antecedents of physical cleansing.

Lee,

Chen,

et al. 2024

Psychological Bulletin

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Physical cleansing is a human universal. It serves health and survival functions. It also carries rich psychological meanings that interest scholars across disciplines. What psychological effects result from cleansing? What psychological states trigger cleansing? The present meta-analysis takes stock of all experimental studies examining the psychological consequences and antecedents of cleansing-related thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (e.g., feeling less guilty after cleansing; spontaneously cleansing oneself after thinking of unwelcomed sexual encounter). It includes 129 records, 230 experiments, and 551 effects from 42,793 participants. Effect sizes were synthesized in random-effects models using robust variance estimates with small-sample corrections, supplemented by other techniques. Outliers were excluded using leave-one-out diagnostics and sensitivity analysis. Publication bias was assessed and corrected for using eight methods. Theoretical, methodological, sample, and report moderators were coded. After excluding outliers, without bias correction, the synthesized effect size estimate was g = 0.315, 95% CI [0.277, 0.354]. Using various bias correction methods, the estimate ranged from g = 0.103 to 0.331 and always exhibited considerable heterogeneity. Effect sizes were especially large for behavioral measures and varied significantly between sample types, sample regions, and report types. Meanwhile, effects were domain-general (observed in the moral domain and beyond), bidirectional (physical cleansing ↔ psychological variables), and robust across theoretical types, manipulation operationalizations, and study designs. Limitations included mixed replicability, suboptimal methodological rigor, and restricted sample diversity. We recommend future studies to (a) incorporate power analysis, preregistration, and replication; (b) investigate generalizability across samples; (c) strengthen discriminant validity; and (d) test competing theoretical accounts. Public Significance StatementCleansing behavior happens throughout the day. Not only does it benefit personal and public health, but it also carries rich psychological and cultural meanings. Our meta-analytic review synthesizes causal evidence from 551 effect sizes and reveals robust effects of manipulating physical cleansing (e.g., actual or imagined handwashing) on psychological outcomes across domains (e.g., morality, politics, religion, emotion, motivation, judgment and decision making). It also reveals robust effects of manipulating diverse psychological experiences (e.g., presence of others, imagined unwelcomed sexual encounter) on cleansing-related thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Altogether, our findings highlight the psychological power and social ramifications of physical cleansing.

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Bioassays for Mammals and Birds

Nolte¹,

Mason²

1998

Methods in Chemical Ecology Volume 2

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Flavor avoidance expressed in grooming by pine voles (Microtus pinetorum): Importance of context and hormonal factors

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

Actual Cleaning and Simulated Cleaning Attenuate Psychological and Physiological Effects of Stressful Events

Actual Cleaning and Simulated Cleaning Attenuate Psychological and Physiological Effects of Stressful Events

Wipe it off: A meta-analytic review of the psychological consequences and antecedents of physical cleansing.

Bioassays for Mammals and Birds

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