Tactless scientists: Ignoring touch in the study of joint attention

Botero, María Mercedes

doi:10.1080/09515089.2016.1225293

Cited by 26 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…There may well also be differences in social information transmission in diurnal as compared to nocturnal species. Moreover, and likely due to the focus on visual pathways for information transmission in studies of animal social learning, most research has overlooked the importance of tactile interactions [164]. However, as Monsó and Wrage [165] note, given the universality of touch across social animals "discriminative touch thus likely constitutes the very first source of social information" (p. 9).…”

Section: Learning Modalitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leveraging Social Learning to Enhance Captive Animal Care and Welfare

Hopper

2021

JZBG

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From ants to zebras, animals are influenced by the behavior of others. At the simplest level, social support can reduce neophobia, increasing animals’ exploration of novel spaces, foods, and other environmental stimuli. Animals can also learn new skills more quickly and more readily after observing others perform them. How then can we apply animals’ proclivity to socially learn to enhance their care and welfare in captive settings? Here, I review the ways in which animals (selectively) use social information, and propose tactics for leveraging that to refine the behavioral management of captive animals: to enhance socialization techniques, enrichment strategies, and training outcomes. It is also important to consider, however, that social learning does not always promote the uniform expression of new behaviors. There are differences in animals’ likelihood to seek out or use socially provided information, driven by characteristics such as species, rank, age, and personality. Additionally, social learning can result in inexact transmission or the transmission of undesirable behaviors. Thus, understanding when, how, and why animals use social information is key to developing effective strategies to improve how we care for animals across settings and, ultimately, enhance captive animal welfare.

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Section: Learning Modalitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leveraging Social Learning to Enhance Captive Animal Care and Welfare

Hopper

2021

JZBG

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“…This is the discriminative function of touch, and it cannot be reduced to the touching of inanimate objects; rather, it extends to touching other living beings. For this reason, Botero has argued that discriminative touch must be factored into discussions on primate social cognition (Botero, 2016(Botero, , pp. 1203(Botero, -1204.…”

Section: The Discriminative Function Of Touch and Its Importance For mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, during the first nine months, infant chimpanzees spend most of their time in close contact with their mothers, who carry them around as they go about their day. By means of this touch interaction, the infant chimpanzee learns about the mother's reaction to different stimuli, thereby gaining information on her perspective and on the world surrounding them (Botero, 2016(Botero, , pp. 1204(Botero, -1205.…”

Section: The Discriminative Function Of Touch and Its Importance For mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this paper, we will outline how the animal morality debate can benefit from a closer look at the role of touch in the social interactions of animals. This has been prompted by Maria Botero's work on primate 1 social cognition, in which she suggests that scientists studying joint attention and theory of mind need to move away from a focus on vision because touch as "the first sense" might be an earlier facilitator of these capacities (Botero, 2016(Botero, , 2018a(Botero, , 2018b. We think that the importance of these claims about the role of touch extends beyond the specific case of social cognition and the particular order of primates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tactful animals: How the study of touch can inform the animal morality debate

Monsó

Wrage

2020

Philosophical Psychology

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“…Some studies have focused specifically on touch and social interactions in non‐human primates (Dunbar, ). Botero (, ) has argued that the inclusion of touch in observations of social interaction in chimpanzees could potentially allow us to observe joint attention and basic emotions in ways that are not possible when researchers focus exclusively on gaze as the main mode of communication. Other researchers have focused on the relation between non‐maternal touch and social bonds in monkeys.…”

Section: Touch In Non‐human Primatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The untenable omission of touch in maternal sensitivity and attachment research

Botero

Langley

Venta

2019

Infant and Child Development

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Despite an increase in research examining maternal and infant touch, and documenting its public health impact, this mode of interaction has historically been omitted from related fields of developmental research in human and non‐human primates. The broad aim of this review is to examine to what extent mother–infant touch has been included in relational paradigms and research. We argue that although theoretical and empirical scholarship on attachment and maternal sensitivity conceptualizes touch as fundamental to caregiver–infant interactions and child development more broadly, touch is rarely operationalized or measured in caregiver–infant interaction paradigms or clinical interventions. Data from primarily human, but also non‐human, primates are reviewed to document the importance of touch, and clinical research is reviewed to document the formal use of touch in human attachment and sensitivity research and intervention. The review closes with recommended directions for future research and related implications. Highlights Review examining to what extent mother–infant touch has been included in relational paradigms and research across human and non‐human primates. Data from studies in human attachment, sensitivity research and intervention, and mother–infant interaction in non‐human primates are reviewed. Touch is theoretically essential, but practically excluded, from attachment coding, maternal sensitivity research, and intervention paradigms. Recommended directions for future research are provided.

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Tactless scientists: Ignoring touch in the study of joint attention

Cited by 26 publications

References 74 publications

Leveraging Social Learning to Enhance Captive Animal Care and Welfare

Leveraging Social Learning to Enhance Captive Animal Care and Welfare

Tactful animals: How the study of touch can inform the animal morality debate

The untenable omission of touch in maternal sensitivity and attachment research

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