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Goats' behaviour in a competitive food paradigm: Evidence for perspective taking?

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kaminski, J; Call, J; Tomasello, M
Published in: Behaviour
November 1, 2006

Many mammalian species are highly social, creating intra-group competition for such things as food and mates. Recent research with nonhuman primates indicates that in competitive situations individuals know what other individuals can and cannot see, and they use this knowledge to their advantage in various ways. In the current study, we extended these findings to a non-primate species, the domestic goat, using the conspecific competition paradigm developed by Hare et al. (2000). Like chimpanzees and some other nonhuman primates, goats live in fission-fusion societies, form coalitions and alliances, and are known to reconcile after fights. In the current study, a dominant and a subordinate individual competed for food, but in some cases the subordinate could see things that the dominant could not. In the condition where dominants could only see one piece of food but subordinates could see both, subordinates' preferences depended on whether they received aggression from the dominant animal during the experiment. Subjects who received aggression preferred the hidden over the visible piece of food, whereas subjects who never received aggression significantly preferred the visible piece. By using this strategy, goats who had not received aggression got significantly more food than the other goats. Such complex social interactions may be supported by cognitive mechanisms similar to those of chimpanzees. We discuss these results in the context of current issues in mammalian cognition and socio-ecology. © Brill Academic Publishers 2006.

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Published In

Behaviour

DOI

ISSN

0005-7959

Publication Date

November 1, 2006

Volume

143

Issue

11

Start / End Page

1341 / 1356

Related Subject Headings

  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0608 Zoology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology
 

Citation

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Kaminski, J., Call, J., & Tomasello, M. (2006). Goats' behaviour in a competitive food paradigm: Evidence for perspective taking? Behaviour, 143(11), 1341–1356. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853906778987542
Kaminski, J., J. Call, and M. Tomasello. “Goats' behaviour in a competitive food paradigm: Evidence for perspective taking?Behaviour 143, no. 11 (November 1, 2006): 1341–56. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853906778987542.
Kaminski J, Call J, Tomasello M. Goats' behaviour in a competitive food paradigm: Evidence for perspective taking? Behaviour. 2006 Nov 1;143(11):1341–56.
Kaminski, J., et al. “Goats' behaviour in a competitive food paradigm: Evidence for perspective taking?Behaviour, vol. 143, no. 11, Nov. 2006, pp. 1341–56. Scopus, doi:10.1163/156853906778987542.
Kaminski J, Call J, Tomasello M. Goats' behaviour in a competitive food paradigm: Evidence for perspective taking? Behaviour. 2006 Nov 1;143(11):1341–1356.
Journal cover image

Published In

Behaviour

DOI

ISSN

0005-7959

Publication Date

November 1, 2006

Volume

143

Issue

11

Start / End Page

1341 / 1356

Related Subject Headings

  • Behavioral Science & Comparative Psychology
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0608 Zoology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
  • 0602 Ecology