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Perceptions of animal minds
Title
Perceptions of animal minds.
Creator
Maurer, Lauren N., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description
Previous research into people's perceptions of animals suggests that people view animals most favorably when they perceive them as being mentally like humans. This thesis examined whether animals perceived as threatening are still seen to be mentally similar to humans, but more likely to experience mental states associated with anger and aggression. Using three separate measures of people's perceptions of animals, including one designed for this study, it was found that participants did...
Show morePrevious research into people's perceptions of animals suggests that people view animals most favorably when they perceive them as being mentally like humans. This thesis examined whether animals perceived as threatening are still seen to be mentally similar to humans, but more likely to experience mental states associated with anger and aggression. Using three separate measures of people's perceptions of animals, including one designed for this study, it was found that participants did indeed view the mental lives of animals differently when those animals were perceived to be threatening. Examination of the effect of the animal chosen showed that some animals are inherently seen as more threatening and less-human like. The implications of these findings for animal conservation efforts, reduction of human-animal conflict, and anthropomorphism in the study of animal cognition were discussed.
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Date Issued
2010
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2978987
Subject Headings
Cognition in animals, Human-animal relationships, Animal behavior
Format
Document (PDF)
Heading in the right direction
Title
Heading in the right direction: the behavior and brain mechanisms of directional navigation.
Creator
Williams, Sidney Beth., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description
The mechanisms that rodents employ to navigate through their environment have been greatly studied. Cognitive mapping theory suggests that animals use distal cues in the environment to navigate to a goal location (place navigation). However, others have found that animals navigate in a particular direction to find a goal (directional navigation). The rodent brain contains head direction cells (HD cells) that discharge according to the head direction of the animal. Navigation by heading...
Show moreThe mechanisms that rodents employ to navigate through their environment have been greatly studied. Cognitive mapping theory suggests that animals use distal cues in the environment to navigate to a goal location (place navigation). However, others have found that animals navigate in a particular direction to find a goal (directional navigation). The rodent brain contains head direction cells (HD cells) that discharge according to the head direction of the animal. Navigation by heading direction is disrupted by lesions of the anterodorsal thalamic nuclei (ADN), many of which are HD cells. Aim 1 tested whether male C57BL/6J mice exhibit direction or place navigation in the Morris water maze. Aim 2 tested the effects of temporary inactivation of the ADN on directional navigation. Together, these data indicate that C57BL/6J mice also exhibit preference for directional navigation and suggest that the ADN may be crucial for this form of spatial navigation.
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Date Issued
2009
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/186774
Subject Headings
Mice as laboratory animals, Animal navigation, Spatial behavior in animals, Cognition in animals
Format
Document (PDF)
Personality Traits in Atlantic Spotted Dolphins (Stenella Frontalis): Syndromes and Predictors of Neophilia
Title
Personality Traits in Atlantic Spotted Dolphins (Stenella Frontalis): Syndromes and Predictors of Neophilia.
Creator
Skrzypczak, Nathan, Herzing, Denise L., Detwiler, Kate M., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
Personality is defined as inter-individual variation of behavioral traits while maintaining intra-individual stability. The focus of this study was to observe distinct personality trait categories, establish baseline personality trait phenotypes for the juvenile population, and compare the personality phenotypes between different categories, such as sex or generation. Three personality traits were studied—sociability, curiousity, and boldness—based on the percentage of time individuals spent...
Show morePersonality is defined as inter-individual variation of behavioral traits while maintaining intra-individual stability. The focus of this study was to observe distinct personality trait categories, establish baseline personality trait phenotypes for the juvenile population, and compare the personality phenotypes between different categories, such as sex or generation. Three personality traits were studied—sociability, curiousity, and boldness—based on the percentage of time individuals spent with conspecifics, human researchers, and their mothers, respectively. The surveyed individuals significantly varied positively and negatively from the means of each trait, and no significant difference for any trait was found between males and females, or across time periods. A moderately strong correlation was discovered between two personality traits, boldness and curiousity, suggesting a personality syndrome. The second primary goal was to use the aforementioned baseline to determine if personality traits can be used to predict neophilic behavior specific to human-dolphin communication research. Six of the study subjects were more prone than their peers to engage with the two-way work, and these individuals were more bold—spent less time with their mothers—than the other subjects. This suggests that boldness has some predictive capabilities towards this type of neophilia.
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Date Issued
2016
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004680, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004680
Subject Headings
Animal behavior, Animal societies, Atlantic spotted dolphin -- Behavior -- Research, Cognition in animals, Social behavior in animals
Format
Document (PDF)
Chimpanzee alarm communications
Title
Chimpanzee alarm communications: a zoosemiotic study.
Creator
Raymond, Alyssa M., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description
Evidence for conceptual semantics is well established in monkeys, however this basis of human language is less evident in the great apes. In order to study semantic communications in chimpanzees, I analyzed alarm calls produced towards a blimp as it was flying overhead. I then replayed a set of these alarm calls to the chimps on a different day. The chimps appeared to act in a manner consistent with the presence of the blimp. The calls they produced in response to the playback stimuli were...
Show moreEvidence for conceptual semantics is well established in monkeys, however this basis of human language is less evident in the great apes. In order to study semantic communications in chimpanzees, I analyzed alarm calls produced towards a blimp as it was flying overhead. I then replayed a set of these alarm calls to the chimps on a different day. The chimps appeared to act in a manner consistent with the presence of the blimp. The calls they produced in response to the playback stimuli were nearly identical to the calls that were produced during the actual flyover. Though the data collected were not sufficient to support a definitive claim, it does appear that the chimpanzees of the study have a meaning-laden vocalization for the aerial stimuli. Whether this call is specific to the blimp or generalizable to other aerial threats is yet to be determined.
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Date Issued
2012
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3352278
Subject Headings
Animal communication, Social behavior in animals, Cognition in animals, Chimpanzees, Behavior, Chimpanzees, Psychology
Format
Document (PDF)
Social play as a tool for developing social-cognitive skills in a wild population of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis)
Title
Social play as a tool for developing social-cognitive skills in a wild population of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis).
Creator
Bender, Courtney Elizabeth., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
The purposes of this dissertation were to identify complex social-cognitive behaviors in a population of wild Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) using long-term video archives and identify developmental trends in those behaviors. Chapter One analyzed calf behavior during foraging events involving maternal teaching in order to identify mechanisms for sharing information between mother and calf... The calves' behavior was affected by the referencing cues, supporting the presence of...
Show moreThe purposes of this dissertation were to identify complex social-cognitive behaviors in a population of wild Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) using long-term video archives and identify developmental trends in those behaviors. Chapter One analyzed calf behavior during foraging events involving maternal teaching in order to identify mechanisms for sharing information between mother and calf... The calves' behavior was affected by the referencing cues, supporting the presence of joint attention and true teaching behavior....Chapter Two observed the altered benthic foraging behavior of juvenile play groups, in which juveniles took turns chasing the fish and using referencing gestures to reference the position of the fish to other individuals during the chase, despite the ability of these young, independent dolphins to catch fish much more quickly and efficiently alson... The third chapter analyzed social object play in which dolphins passed pieces of seaweed between individuals. The data clarified developmental trends in the play, and suggested social-cognitive abilities needed for participation.
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Date Issued
2012
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3358280
Subject Headings
Social behavior in animals, Cognition in animals, Dolphins, Behavior, Atlantic spotted dolphin
Format
Document (PDF)
seeds of structure: Exploring the chimpanzee mind
Title
The seeds of structure: Exploring the chimpanzee mind.
Creator
Halloran, Andrew R., Florida Atlantic University, Broadfield, Douglas C.
Abstract/Description
There are certain properties of the human mind which allow abstract thought. These properties are responsible for the ability to create myth (or explanations of the unknown), cosmology, and culture. They are the seeds of all human phenomena not attributable to instinct. These properties can be isolated as the capacity for numeric logic and the mind functioning in terms of binary oppositions. The long held paradigm sees the human species as unique in possessing these qualities and well as the...
Show moreThere are certain properties of the human mind which allow abstract thought. These properties are responsible for the ability to create myth (or explanations of the unknown), cosmology, and culture. They are the seeds of all human phenomena not attributable to instinct. These properties can be isolated as the capacity for numeric logic and the mind functioning in terms of binary oppositions. The long held paradigm sees the human species as unique in possessing these qualities and well as the phenomena they yield. In order to challenge this paradigm, a two experiments are conducted on a chimpanzee to see if she possessed these properties. She successfully completed the cognitive tests on both experiments, thus implicating the human species as not unique in its abstractions.
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Date Issued
2005
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13309
Subject Headings
Brain--Evolution, Human information processing, Primates--Behavior, Human-animal communication, Cognition in animals, Chimpanzees--Behavior
Format
Document (PDF)