scholarly journals The Effect of Demonstrator Social Rank on the Attentiveness and Motivation of Pigs to Positively Interact with Their Human Caretakers

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2140
Author(s):  
Daniela Luna ◽  
Catalina González ◽  
Christopher J. Byrd ◽  
Rocío Palomo ◽  
Elizabeth Huenul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Facilitation ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Human Contact ◽  
The Social ◽  
Contact Control ◽  
Large Groups

In this study, we addressed the social attentiveness, as well as the phenomenon of social facilitation and inhibition in the context of a positive human–pig relationship. Specifically, we investigated whether the social rank of an experienced pig (termed “demonstrator”) has an effect on the attentiveness of the remaining pen mates (N = 40) when they observe the demonstrator being gently handled by a stockperson from behind an acrylic panel. We found that pigs preferentially attended to dominant demonstrators rather than subordinate demonstrators during their gentle handling sessions with the stockperson. Additionally, we also examined whether the presence of a demonstrator pig of different social rank, who previously established a positive relationship with the stockperson in presence of conspecifics, affects the behavior and motivation of their pen mates to positively interact with the stockperson. To test for the effect of the presence and demonstrator’s social rank on pen mate interactions with the stockperson, we evaluated the behavior of domestic pigs (N = 65) toward the stockperson using a human-approach test in their home-pen. Pigs showed a decrease in their motivation to positively interact with the stockperson when a socially dominant demonstrator was present, behaving similarly to animals receiving minimal human contact (control group). Overall, they exhibited a greater latency to physical contact, a lower acceptance of stroking, and spent more time looking at the stockperson compared to pigs exposed to subordinate demonstrators. Taken together, these findings expand our current understanding of pigs’ cognition and social behavior, and the nature of social attention bias in farm animals. Our findings indicate that positive handling of previously selected subordinate demonstrators seems to be the best strategy to reduce the level of fear in large groups of pigs.

scholarly journals Do Domestic Pigs Acquire a Positive Perception of Humans through Observational Social Learning?

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Daniela Luna ◽  
Catalina González ◽  
Christopher J. Byrd ◽  
Rocío Palomo ◽  
Elizabeth Huenul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Open Field Test ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Positive Perception ◽  
Human Contact ◽  
And Control

Farm animals can perceive humans positively by observing another animal being positively handled. This study evaluated whether pigs acquire a positive perception of humans after observing either a high or low socially ranked conspecific receiving gentle handling. Seventy-five 21-week-old pigs were housed in 15 nursery pens (five pigs/pen) and randomly assigned to one of three pen treatments: Dominant Demonstrator Group (DDG), Subordinate Demonstrator Group (SDG) and Control Group (CG). Pigs from DDG and SDG observed a high and low socially ranked conspecific (“demonstrator”), respectively, while the demonstrator received gentle stroking and a sucrose solution for 10 min, twice a day for 5 weeks. Control group pigs received minimal human contact. Following treatment, the behavior and heart rate variability of non-demonstrator pigs were evaluated in response to a stockperson in an open-field test. Pigs from the DDG and SDG contacted the stockperson sooner (p < 0.001), spent more time investigating the stockperson (p < 0.05), accepted more stroking (p < 0.001) and exhibited a lower low/high frequency ratio (p = 0.015) compared to the CG. No differences in learning between the pigs from the DDG and SDG were found. These results suggest that pigs can learn to perceive humans positively through observational social learning, regardless of the demonstrator conspecific’s social rank.

Epistemic and relational conflicts in sharing identical vs. complementary information during cooperative learning

2002 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Darnon ◽  
Céline Buchs ◽  
Fabrizio Butera
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Complementary Information ◽  
Relational Conflict ◽  
The Social ◽  
The University

When interacting on a learning task, which is typical of several academic situations, individuals may experience two different motives: Understanding the problem, or showing their competences. When a conflict (confrontation of divergent propositions) emerges from this interaction, it can be solved either in an epistemic way (focused on the task) or in a relational way (focused on the social comparison of competences). The latter is believed to be detrimental for learning. Moreover, research on cooperative learning shows that when they share identical information, partners are led to compare to each other, and are less encouraged to cooperate than when they share complementary information. An epistemic vs. relational conflict vs. no conflict was provoked in dyads composed by a participant and a confederate, working either on identical or on complementary information (N = 122). Results showed that, if relational and epistemic conflicts both entailed more perceived interactions and divergence than the control group, only relational conflict entailed more perceived comparison activities and a less positive relationship than the control group. Epistemic conflict resulted in a more positive perceived relationship than the control group. As far as performance is concerned, relational conflict led to a worse learning than epistemic conflict, and - after a delay - than the control group. An interaction between the two variables on delayed performance showed that epistemic and relational conflicts were different only when working with complementary information. This study shows the importance of the quality of relationship when sharing information during cooperative learning, a crucial factor to be taken into account when planning educational settings at the university.

scholarly journals Determinants Of Dominance, Resting Place And Neighbour Preferences In Wrzosówka Polska Ewes Kept Indoors

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin T. Górecki ◽  
Natalia Dziwińska
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Aggressive Behaviour ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Social Hierarchy ◽  
Social Position ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Use Of Space ◽  
The Social

Abstract The aim of this study was to recognize features determining social hierarchy in Wrzosówka Polska ewes kept indoors as well as to investigate their resting place and companionship preferences. Observations (156 hours in total) were carried out in a group of 22 ewes. The social rank of sheep was determined by their age, body weight and length of horns. Social position was positively correlated with aggressive behaviour performed and negatively with aggressive behaviour received. Use of space while resting was influenced by ewe social behaviour; aggressive individuals lied more often in attractive places, namely against walls and fodder troughs compared to other animals. In general, the ewes rested by having physical contact with animals of similar rank and aggressiveness. Kinship appeared not to be important in neighbour preference. As can be concluded, social interactions influenced the use of space and neighbourhood in ewes

When rank counts — dominant dogs learn better from a human demonstrator in a two-action test

Behaviour ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter Pongrácz ◽  
Petra Bánhegyi ◽  
Ádám Miklósi
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Target Object ◽  
The Other ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Object A ◽  
Companion Dogs ◽  
Initial Preference ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Demonstration

AbstractDogs can learn effectively from a human demonstrator in detour tests as well as in different kinds of manipulative tasks. In this experiment we used a novel two-action device from which the target object (a ball) was obtained by tilting a tube either by pulling a rope attached to the end of the tube, or by directly pushing the end of the tube. Tube tilting was relatively easy for naïve companion dogs; therefore, the effect of the human demonstration aimed to alter or increase the dogs’ initial preference for tube pushing (according to the behaviour shown by naïve dogs in the absence of a human demonstrator). Our results have shown that subjects preferred the demonstrated action in the two-action test. After having witnessed the tube pushing demonstration, dogs performed significantly more tube pushing than the dogs in the rope pulling demonstration group. In contrast, dogs that observed the rope pulling demonstration, performed significantly more similar actions than the subjects of the other demonstration group. The ratio of rope pulling was significantly higher in the rope pulling demonstration group, than in the No Demo (control) group. The overall success of solving the task was also influenced by the social rank of the dog among its conspecific companions at home. Independently of the type of demonstration, dominant dogs solved the task significantly more often than the subordinate dogs did. There was no such difference in the No Demo group. This experiment has shown that a simple two-action device that does not require excessive pre-training, can be suitable for testing social learning in dogs. However, effects of social rank should be taken into account when social learning in dogs is being studied and tested, because dominant and subordinate dogs perform differently after observing a demonstrator.

scholarly journals The interplay of physical and social wellbeing in older adults: investigating the relationship between physical training and social interactions with virtual social environments

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. e30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iman Khaghani Far ◽  
Michela Ferron ◽  
Francisco Ibarra ◽  
Marcos Baez ◽  
Stefano Tranquillini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Physical Training ◽  
Social Group ◽  
Social Facilitation ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Home Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
At Home

Background.Regular physical activity can substantially improve the physical wellbeing of older adults, preventing several chronic diseases and increasing cognitive performance and mood. However, research has shown that older adults are the most sedentary segment of society, spending much of their time seated or inactive. A variety of barriers make it difficult for older adults to maintain an active lifestyle, including logistical difficulties in going to a gym (for some adults, leaving home can be challenging), reduced functional abilities, and lack of motivation. In this paper, we report on the design and evaluation of Gymcentral. A training application running on tablet was designed to allow older adults to follow a personalized home-based exercise program while being remotely assisted by a coach. The objective of the study was to assess if a virtual gym that enables virtual presence and social interaction is more motivating for training than the same virtual gym without social interaction.Methods.A total of 37 adults aged between 65 and 87 years old (28 females and 9 males, mean age = 71, sd = 5.8) followed a personalized home-based strength and balance training plan for eight weeks. The participants performed the exercises autonomously at home using the Gymcentral application. Participants were assigned to two training groups: the Social group used an application with persuasive and social functionalities, while the Control group used a basic version of the service with no persuasive and social features. We further explored the effects of social facilitation, and in particular of virtual social presence, in user participation to training sessions. Outcome measures were adherence, persistence and co-presence rate.Results.Participants in the Social group attended significantly more exercise sessions than the Control group, providing evidence of a better engagement in the training program. Besides the focus on social persuasion measures, the study also confirms that a virtual gym service is effective for supporting individually tailored home-based physical training for older adults. The study also confirms that social facilitation tools motivate users to train together in a virtual fitness environment.Discussion.The study confirms that Gymcentral increases the participation of older adults in physical training compare to a similar version of the application without social and persuasive features. In addition, a significant increase in the co-presence of the Social group indicates that social presence motivates the participants to join training sessions at the same time with the other participants. These results are encouraging, as they motivate further research into using home-based training programs as an opportunity to stay physically and socially active, especially for those who for various reasons are bound to stay at home.

scholarly journals Effects of Positive Human Contact during Gestation on the Behaviour, Physiology and Reproductive Performance of Sows

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 214
Author(s):  
Megan E. Hayes ◽  
Lauren M. Hemsworth ◽  
Rebecca S. Morrison ◽  
Kym L. Butler ◽  
Maxine Rice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Serum Cortisol ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Physical Interaction ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Human Contact ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Contact Control ◽  
Being Moved

Previous positive interactions with humans may ameliorate the stress response of farm animals to aversive routine practices such as painful or stressful procedures, particularly those associated with stockpeople. We studied the effects of positive handling by providing younger (parity 1–2) and older (parity 3–8) sows housed in pens of fifteen (n = 24 pens in total) with either positive human contact (+HC) or routine human contact (control) during gestation. The +HC treatment involved a familiar stockperson patting and scratching sows and was imposed at a pen-level for 2 min daily. Measurements studied included behavioural, physiological and productivity variables. The +HC sows showed reduced avoidance of the stockperson conducting pregnancy testing and vaccination in the home pens, however the behavioural and cortisol responses of sows in a standard unfamiliar human approach test did not differ. There were no effects of +HC on aggression between sows, serum cortisol or serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor concentrations during gestation, or on the behavioural and cortisol response to being moved to farrowing crates. There were also no effects of +HC on the maternal responsiveness of sows, farrowing rate or the number of piglets born alive, stillborn or weaned. Sows in the +HC pens reduced their physical interaction with the stockpeople imposing the treatment after 2 weeks, which suggests the sows may have habituated to the novel or possible rewarding elements of the handling treatment. This experiment shows that regular positive interaction with stockpeople does reduce sows’ fear of stockpeople, but does not always confer stress resilence.

scholarly journals Social Isolation Following Embryo Transfer increases Success Rates in IVF and ICSI Cycles

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-14
Author(s):  
Anu Kottur ◽  
Muthugadhahalli S Srinivas ◽  
Partha P Majumdar ◽  
Pushpa M Bhargava
Keyword(s):  
Embryo Transfer ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Female Mouse ◽  
Clinical Pregnancy ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Live Births ◽  
The Social

ABSTRACT Background and objective Bruce et al had shown, during 1959 to 1968, that if, 24 hours after mating, a mouse belonging to a different inbred strain than the stud mouse was placed in the cage of the female mouse, partitioned in such a way that no physical contact of the nonstud male with the female was possible, pregnancy was blocked. We, therefore, decided to determine whether, by analogy with mice, isolation of women from all other men except the husband, for 3 days after embryo transfer following in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracycloplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), increases the establishment of pregnancy. Method We isolated randomly selected 729 women from all other men except the husband for 3 full days after embryo transfer following IVF/ICSI, and followed them to the end of pregnancy; 1005 randomly selected women who were treated similarly but not isolated served as the control group. Results The establishment of clinical pregnancy as well as live births were more than 50% higher in the isolated group than in the control. Conclusion The social isolation as mentioned above could substantially increase the success rates in IVF or ICSI. While the exact mechanism of this phenomenon is yet to be understood, one possible explanation may be, by analogy with mice, an olfactory block to implantation. How to cite this article Rao KA, Srinivas MS, Kottur A, Majumdar PP, Bhargava PM. Social Isolation Following Embryo Transfer Increases Success Rates in IVF and ICSI Cycles. Int J Infertility Fetal Med 2012;3(1):8-14.

New research frameworks in the study of chimpanzee and gorilla sociality and communication

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam G. B. Roberts ◽  
Anna Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Social Evolution ◽  
Social Complexity ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Social Evolution ◽  
Research Frameworks ◽  
New Research ◽  
Large Groups

Group size in primates is strongly correlated with brain size, but exactly what makes larger groups more ‘socially complex’ than smaller groups is still poorly understood. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) are among our closest living relatives and are excellent model species to investigate patterns of sociality and social complexity in primates, and to inform models of human social evolution. The aim of this paper is to propose new research frameworks, particularly the use of social network analysis, to examine how social structure differs in small, medium and large groups of chimpanzees and gorillas, to explore what makes larger groups more socially complex than smaller groups. Given a fission-fusion system is likely to have characterised hominins, a comparison of the social complexity involved in fission-fusion and more stable social systems is likely to provide important new insights into human social evolution

Influence of DAFS-25+polizon composition on blood and functional state of liver of steers at fattening

2020 ◽  
pp. 15-18
Author(s):  
Inna R. Kilmetova ◽  
◽  
Igor A. Rodin ◽  
Nazira I. Khayrullina ◽  
Nikolay G. Fenchenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional State ◽  
White Blood Cells ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
The Body ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Standard Diet ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Stimulation Of

Summary. The disbalanced feeding and the uneven distribution of micro- and macroelements in the environment leads to a trace element, in particular hypomelanosis. To accelerate the growth and preservation of young farm animals include in the diet of various biological additives and drugs, which include selenium. For stimulation of weight gain in the livestock industry, as well as for the prevention and treatment of pathological processes in addition to micro - and macrouse amino acids, primarily methionine. The aim of this work was to study the influence of composition of DAFS-25+Polizon on morpho-biochemical parameters of blood and functional state of the liver in fattening bulls of black-motley breed in the conditions of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Experiments using were conducted on bull-calves of black-motley breed of the properties in the properties age from 6 to 15 months. The first experimental group during the experiment was additionally given the composition of DAFS-25+Polizon at a dose of 2 mg/kg, the animals of the control group received a standard diet. To assess the impact of the composition DAFS-25+Polizon on metabolism cattle studied morphological and biochemical indicators of blood and conducted histological examination of the liver. It is established that the use of the composition of DAFS-25+Polizon at a dose of 2 mg/kg increases the number of erythrocytes and hemoglobin in the experimental group and reduces the amount of white blood cells. The serum content of total protein, phosphorus and calcium increases in the group of experimental animals. Microscopic examination of the liver revealed no changes in the structure of the organ and hepatocytes in the experimental group, whereas in the control group hemodynamic disorders and dystrophic changes in liver cells were observed. Thus, the use of the composition DAFS-25+Polizon at a dose of 2 mg/kg of live weight in fattening bulls black-and-white breed contributes to the increase of redox processes in the body, stimulation of metabolism, prevent the development of liver disorders of cellular mechanisms of metabolism, optimizes the structure of the liver, which generally provides higher productivity.

Extruded lupine as a part of energy-protein concentrate in the ration of lactating cows

2020 ◽  
pp. 65-73
Author(s):  
Z. Fedorova
Keyword(s):  
Farm Animals ◽  
Feed Consumption ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Protein Concentrate ◽  
Cattle Farm ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Lactating Cows ◽  
White Breed ◽  
Kaliningrad Region ◽  
Experimental Group

In order to fi ll the existing protein defi ciency in the rations of farm animals in particular dairy cows it is necessary to input feed lupins as widely as possible in crop rotations. Lupin is a very versatile forage crop it can be used in feed as herbage, in the form of haylage, silage, in compound feed as a protein additive, as well as a green manure crop to increase soil fertility. Questions of protein nutrition should be to be quickly resolved, both in the production of protein and in its standardized rational use. Unbalanced protein rations increase feed consumption per unit of production, thereby increasing its prime cost. In the world soya is generally recognized as a protein feed, but in the Kaliningrad region as in most of regions in our country, it does not maturate being a heat-loving crop. Under these environments the inclusion of extruded lupine grain in the composition of energy-protein concentrates for the production of compound feed has become an alternative to replacing expensive soya. The researches have been carried out it the cattle farm of LLC “Temp” in the Guryevsky area in the Kaliningrad region (March-May 2019) on feeding lactating cows energy-protein concentrate from extruded grain of narrow-leaved lupine, fl ax, triticale, subjected to heat treatment on a press extruder. For this purpose two groups of lactating cows of Black-and-White breed (control and experimental) have been formed using the method of pairs of analogs per 11 heads in each. Cows of the control group have received the main ration of the farm, and cows of the experimental group in addition to the main ration have received compound feed with extruded energy-protein concentrate based on lupine. As a result of research, the positive infl uence of energy-protein concentrate based on lupine in compound feed on the dairy productivity of cows has been established. Recipes of concentrate and compound feed with concentrate for lactating cows, the volume of inclusion of components in the concentrate and in the compound feed have been calculated. During the experiment, the milk yield in the experimental group of cows has increased by 62,4 kg or 8,0 %, than in the control group. From the cows of the experimental group the conditional profi t has been received in the amount of 1684,8 rubles per head.

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