The relative contributions of social and stimulus factors in development of rat dietary preferences were examined. Investigation of odor-alone effects revealed that weak odors resulted in preference for familiar-odor diets, but only at longer exposure times. Shorter exposure to strong odors also produced differences in diet preference. When odor and conspecific presence were manipulated simultaneously, odors produced no diet preference at low intensities, whereas high-intensity odors did so regardless of conspecific presence. Medium-intensity odor concentrations produced differences only with conspecifics present, indicating social enhancement of stimuli that are ineffective in isolation. These results suggest the separate influence of social and stimulus factors on dietary preferences and explain contradictions in previous studies.

In this article, we describe techniques for clarifying goals, improving organization, and evaluating students in research courses that are typically unstructured. We include methods for assisting students in designing experiments, creating evaluation tools, and encouraging and monitoring student progress throughout the course. These techniques motivate students to avoid procrastination and become immediately involved in the research process. The methods are simple, have a wide range of usefulness, and are appropriate for any graduate or undergraduate course with an independent study or seminar format.

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