Retention of individual recognition in chicks and the effects of social experience

Porter, Richard H.; Arnould, Cécile; Simac, Leslie; Hild, Sophie

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.01.021

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Living in large, stable social groups is often considered to favor the evolution of enhanced cognitive abilities, such as recognizing group members, tracking their social status, and inferring relationships among them (see Bond, Kamil, & Balda, 2003;Croney & Newberry 2007). The establishment and maintenance of a hierarchy is widespread in social animals, including the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus: Chase, 1982;Cloutier, Beaugrand, & Lague, 1996) and this requires the recognition of individual conspecifics (Porter, Arnould, Simac, & Hild, 2006;Vallortigara, 1992a). The animal can make inferences about its own status on the basis of observed interactions of other individuals and this suggests, implicitly, that animals may be able to use a form of logical reasoning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Logic in an asymmetrical (social) brain: Transitive inference in the young domestic chick

Daisley

Vallortígara

Regolin

2010

Social Neuroscience

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The ability of animals to perform transitive inference is associated with social group formation and dominance hierarchies. Brain lateralization is also linked to the selective pressures associated with social life. We investigated whether transitive inference is better performed by lateralized than non-lateralized brains. In the domestic chick (Gallus gallus) exposure of eggs to light before hatching leads to the development of lateralization of some visual functions. Thus, it is possible to obtain chicks with strong (light-incubated, Li-chicks) or weak (dark-incubated, Di-chicks) lateralization. Di- and Li-chicks were trained to discriminate stimulus pairs, in order to build a hierarchy (A > B > C > D > E). Chicks were subsequently tested on stimulus pairs never seen together before (AE and BD). Li-chicks performed the discrimination BD better than did Di-chicks, suggesting that exposure to light in the egg leads to an increased ability to carry out representational learning. Moreover, lateralized chicks using their left eye only (right hemisphere) during test showed a better performance than did right eye only (left hemisphere) chicks on the BD task. Females also tended to perform better than males. Results demonstrate that chicks with lateralized brain hemispheres show greater inference, and this is under right hemisphere control: the brain hemisphere that is dominant in social interactions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Logic in an asymmetrical (social) brain: Transitive inference in the young domestic chick

Daisley

Vallortígara

Regolin

2010

Social Neuroscience

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“…The hierarchy is maintained by continued interactions, usually displays of dominance, between the females. The ability to recognise other individual conspecifics is required for the formation and maintenance of the pecking order 6 , 7 and from this the hens can make inferences about their own status on the basis of observed interactions of other individuals. Indeed, it has been shown that chickens will avoid fighting a stranger that has been observed as being dominant over another individual known to be higher in the hierarchy 8 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-rank Gallus gallus domesticus chicks are better at transitive inference reasoning

2021

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A form of deductive reasoning, transitive inference, is thought to allow animals to infer relationships between members of a social group without having to remember all the interactions that occur. Such an ability means that animals can avoid direct confrontations which could be costly. Here we show that chicks perform a transitive inference task differently according to sex and rank. In female chicks, low-ranking birds performed better than did the highest ranked. Male chicks, however, showed an inverted U-shape of ability across rank, with the middle ranked chicks best able to perform the task. These results are explained according to the roles the sexes take within the group. This research directly links the abilities of transitive inference learning and social hierarchy formation and prompts further investigation into the role of both sex and rank within the dynamics of group living.

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“…Indeed, the frequency of pecks directed at familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics appears to be the most sensitive measure of social discrimination in young birds (cf. Porter et al 2006). It is proposed that pecking intensity may be a form of social exploration (Riedstra & Groothuis 2002) or aggression ( Vallortigara 1992b).…”

Section: Lateralization Of Preference For Face-like Configurationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lateralization of social cognition in the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus)

Daisley

Mascalzoni

Rosa‐Salva

et al. 2008

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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In this paper, we report on the ongoing work in our laboratories on the effect of lateralization produced by light exposure in the egg on social cognition in the domestic chick (Gallus gallus). The domestic chick possesses a lateralized visual system. This has effects on the chick's perception towards and interaction with its environment. This includes its ability to live successfully within a social group. We show that there is a tendency for right brain hemisphere dominance when performing social cognitive actions. As such, chicks show a left hemispatial bias for approaching a signalled target object, tend to perceive gaze and faces of human-like masks more effectively when using their left eye, are able to inhibit a pecking response more effectively when viewing a neighbour tasting a bitter substance with their left eye, and are better able to perform a transitive inference task when exposed to light in the egg and when forced to use their left eye only compared to dark-hatched or right eye chicks. Some of these effects were sex specific, with male chicks tending to show an increased effect of lateralization on their behaviours. These data are discussed in terms of overall social cognition in group living.

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Retention of individual recognition in chicks and the effects of social experience

Cited by 10 publications

References 20 publications

Logic in an asymmetrical (social) brain: Transitive inference in the young domestic chick

Logic in an asymmetrical (social) brain: Transitive inference in the young domestic chick

Low-rank Gallus gallus domesticus chicks are better at transitive inference reasoning

Lateralization of social cognition in the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus)

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