Transitive reasoning in the adult domestic hen in a six-term series task
Abstract Transitive inference (TI) is a disjunctive syllogism that allows an individual to indirectly infer a relationship between two components, by knowing their respective relationship to a third component (if A > B and B > C, then A > C). The common procedure is the 5-term series task,...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2024-11-01
|
| Series: | Animal Cognition |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01914-1 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832585603665887232 |
|---|---|
| author | R. Degrande O. Amichaud B. Piégu F. Cornilleau P. Jardat V. H.B. Ferreira V. Colson L. Lansade L. Calandreau |
| author_facet | R. Degrande O. Amichaud B. Piégu F. Cornilleau P. Jardat V. H.B. Ferreira V. Colson L. Lansade L. Calandreau |
| author_sort | R. Degrande |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Transitive inference (TI) is a disjunctive syllogism that allows an individual to indirectly infer a relationship between two components, by knowing their respective relationship to a third component (if A > B and B > C, then A > C). The common procedure is the 5-term series task, in which individuals are tested on indirect, unlearned relations. Few bird species have been tested for TI to date, which limits our knowledge of the phylogenetic spread of such reasoning ability. Here we tested TI in adult laying hens using a more solid methodology, the 6-term series task, which has not been tested in poultry so far. Six hens were trained to learn direct relationships in a sequence of six arbitrary items (A > B > C > D > E > F) in a hybrid training procedure. Then, 12 testing sessions were run, comprising 3 non-rewarded inference trials each: BD, BE, and CE. All subjects showed TI within 12 inference trials and were capable of TI whatever the relative distance between the items in the series. We found that TI performance was not impacted by the reinforcement ratios of the items for most individuals, making it harder to support a purely associative-based resolution of the task. We suggest that TI is based on the same cognitive processes in poultry (Galloanserae) than in modern flying birds (Neoaves), and that the cognitive strategy to solve the task might be driven mainly by individual parameters within species. These results contribute to a better understanding of transitive inference processes in birds. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ed6ed362e6f849ce85deb61f18383fec |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1435-9456 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal Cognition |
| spelling | doaj-art-ed6ed362e6f849ce85deb61f18383fec2025-01-26T12:43:46ZengSpringerAnimal Cognition1435-94562024-11-0127111510.1007/s10071-024-01914-1Transitive reasoning in the adult domestic hen in a six-term series taskR. Degrande0O. Amichaud1B. Piégu2F. Cornilleau3P. Jardat4V. H.B. Ferreira5V. Colson6L. Lansade7L. Calandreau8CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, PRC (Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements)IFIP - Institut du PorcCNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, PRC (Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements)CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, PRC (Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements)CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, PRC (Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements)CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, PRC (Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements)Laboratoire de Physiologie et Génomique des Poissons, INRAECNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, PRC (Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements)CNRS, INRAE, Université de Tours, PRC (Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements)Abstract Transitive inference (TI) is a disjunctive syllogism that allows an individual to indirectly infer a relationship between two components, by knowing their respective relationship to a third component (if A > B and B > C, then A > C). The common procedure is the 5-term series task, in which individuals are tested on indirect, unlearned relations. Few bird species have been tested for TI to date, which limits our knowledge of the phylogenetic spread of such reasoning ability. Here we tested TI in adult laying hens using a more solid methodology, the 6-term series task, which has not been tested in poultry so far. Six hens were trained to learn direct relationships in a sequence of six arbitrary items (A > B > C > D > E > F) in a hybrid training procedure. Then, 12 testing sessions were run, comprising 3 non-rewarded inference trials each: BD, BE, and CE. All subjects showed TI within 12 inference trials and were capable of TI whatever the relative distance between the items in the series. We found that TI performance was not impacted by the reinforcement ratios of the items for most individuals, making it harder to support a purely associative-based resolution of the task. We suggest that TI is based on the same cognitive processes in poultry (Galloanserae) than in modern flying birds (Neoaves), and that the cognitive strategy to solve the task might be driven mainly by individual parameters within species. These results contribute to a better understanding of transitive inference processes in birds.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01914-1Transitive inferenceRelational memoryCognitionChickenGallus gallus Domesticus |
| spellingShingle | R. Degrande O. Amichaud B. Piégu F. Cornilleau P. Jardat V. H.B. Ferreira V. Colson L. Lansade L. Calandreau Transitive reasoning in the adult domestic hen in a six-term series task Animal Cognition Transitive inference Relational memory Cognition Chicken Gallus gallus Domesticus |
| title | Transitive reasoning in the adult domestic hen in a six-term series task |
| title_full | Transitive reasoning in the adult domestic hen in a six-term series task |
| title_fullStr | Transitive reasoning in the adult domestic hen in a six-term series task |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transitive reasoning in the adult domestic hen in a six-term series task |
| title_short | Transitive reasoning in the adult domestic hen in a six-term series task |
| title_sort | transitive reasoning in the adult domestic hen in a six term series task |
| topic | Transitive inference Relational memory Cognition Chicken Gallus gallus Domesticus |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01914-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rdegrande transitivereasoningintheadultdomesticheninasixtermseriestask AT oamichaud transitivereasoningintheadultdomesticheninasixtermseriestask AT bpiegu transitivereasoningintheadultdomesticheninasixtermseriestask AT fcornilleau transitivereasoningintheadultdomesticheninasixtermseriestask AT pjardat transitivereasoningintheadultdomesticheninasixtermseriestask AT vhbferreira transitivereasoningintheadultdomesticheninasixtermseriestask AT vcolson transitivereasoningintheadultdomesticheninasixtermseriestask AT llansade transitivereasoningintheadultdomesticheninasixtermseriestask AT lcalandreau transitivereasoningintheadultdomesticheninasixtermseriestask |