How to Handle Your Dragon: Does Handling Duration Affect the Behaviour of Bearded Dragons (Pogona Vitticeps)?

Reptiles are popular as pets and it is, therefore, important to understand how different aspects of housing and husbandry impact on their behaviour and welfare. One potential cause of stress in captive reptiles is interaction with humans; in particular, the effect of handling. However, little research on handling has been carried out with reptiles, particularly relating to the type of gentle handling likely to be experienced by pet animals. The aim of this study was therefore to determine whether the amount of time that bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps), a commonly kept pet species, experienced gentle handling induced no or differing levels of anxiety, as reflected in their subsequent behavioural response to novelty. We found that there appeared to be a mildly aversive effect of handling time on subsequent behavioural response to novelty. Longer durations of handling (5 min or 15 min) appeared to increase anxiety-related behaviour, with handled animals showing more frequent tongue flicking behaviour when they experienced a novel environment and reduced time spent in close proximity to a novel object. These results suggest that handling bearded dragons, even in a gentle way, may increase their anxiety. However, it is not yet known whether animals may habituate to handling for longer periods if provided with additional experience.

Dynamic Guidance by Colored Running Lights and Affordance: Route Choices of Adults and Older Children

Guidance to emergency exits play an important role for safe evacuation. Dynamic route guidance by colored flashing lights and strobe lights at emergency exits has been tested [1–3], but the effects of dynamic lights to support route choices need to be determined in more detail. Also, the guidance effects of different colors need to be examined and the reaction of various groups of evacuees. The paper analyzes the effects of red and green running lights on route choice in subway stations comparing adults and older children (10 to 12 years old). Data was gathered in a laboratory experiment, focusing on the concept of affordance [4, 5]. Participants were asked to make a decision about the safest direction between two alternative directions. Their choice was either unsupported or supported by red or green running lights. In general, an interaction between color and direction of the running light was found. Green running lights influenced route choices of both participant groups and led participants clearly into the direction indicated by the lights. Red running lights influenced route choices of both participant groups, but red lights lead to ambiguous decisions. Architectural elements such as stairs influenced route choices of both participant groups (functional affordance). But green running light offered a stronger indication to a safe route (cognitive affordance) than a visible staircase (functional affordance). Green lights even led participants to modify their route preference. In contrast, red running lights had an aversive effect: older children chose against the lights and preferred the other direction than the red lights were directing to. Implications for design of dynamic route guidance are discussed. This includes colored running lights to lead evacuees to a safe exit and to implement the influence of running lights on route choice and movement in simulations.

Price promotions and products with low consumer ratings

Purpose Previous research indicates the aversive effect of low consumer ratings on consumers’ purchasing decisions. This paper aims to apply decision justifiability theory to investigate how price promotions – price discount and price bundling – can reduce this effect. Design/methodology/approach Two scenario-based experiments were administered among college students (Experiment 1) and online consumer panels (Experiment 2) to test the research hypotheses. Findings When time-to-purchase is long (vs short), a large discount is more effective in alleviating consumers’ negative responses toward products with low consumer ratings. However, when a price discount is presented as a bundle rather than a separate deal, a small discount size becomes as attractive as a large discount size for consumers with a longer time-to-purchase. Practical implications This paper identifies two controllable factors, price discounts and price bundling, that could help to alleviate the negative impact of low consumer ratings. Marketing managers can apply the findings of this paper as guidelines to deal with the aversive effect of low consumer ratings. Originality/value This paper makes an initial attempt to examine situations where consumers would be less averse to products with low consumer ratings. It identifies the roles of two price promotions (i.e. price discount size and price bundling) and an important contextual factor (i.e. time-to-purchase) that influence consumers’ decision justifiability and, subsequently, alter consumers’ online purchase decisions for such products.

Aversive and non-reward learning in the fire-bellied toad using familiar and unfamiliar prey stimuli

The present study investigated how snapping behavior toward familiar and unfamiliar prey is modified by reward omission and aversive conditioning in the fire-bellied toad Bombina orientalis. Toads were trained to snap at cricket images by rewarding them with live crickets. The task was learned, and the learning criterion (10 snapping responses within 2 minutes) was reached in all individuals investigated. Subsequent reward omission did not alter the frequency of snapping to the familiar cricket stimulus. Snapping decreased only in some individuals, when a mild foot shock was applied at snapping. However, at presentation of images of hitherto unfamiliar meal worms and foot-shock application at snapping to the stimulus, the majority of toads diminished snapping significantly. Snapping responses decreased more rapidly, when snapping at meal worms was not rewarded or a footshock was applied uncorrelated to the presentation of or snapping at meal worms. These results demonstrate that in toads familiarity and unfamiliarity of prey stimuli are important factors in aversive learning, because well-trained responses to familiar stimuli become immune against reward omission. Furthermore, at presentation of unfamiliar stimuli, omission of reward and uncorrelated footshock had a stronger aversive effect than correlated footshock.