Epimeletic Behavior

Bearzi, Giovanni; Reggente, M.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-804327-1.00121-7

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Epimeletic behavior: Care-giving behavior may include the altruistic behaviors described above (such as saving people or other animals from drowning or protecting them from predators) or simply devoting much care and attention to unrelated individuals [108,109].…”

Section: Examples Of Evolutionary Terms and Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cetaceans as Exemplars of Evolution and Evolutionary Ecology: A Glossary

Werth

2020

Oceans

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Extant cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) and their extinct ancestors offer some of the strongest and best-known examples of macroevolutionary transition as well as microevolutionary adaptation. Unlike most reviews of cetacean evolution, which are intended to chronicle the timeline of cetacean ancestry, document the current knowledge of cetacean adaptations, or simply validate the brute fact of evolution, this review is instead intended to demonstrate how cetaceans fittingly illustrate hundreds of specific, detailed terms and concepts within evolutionary biology and evolutionary ecology. This review, arrayed in alphabetical glossary format, is not meant to offer an exhaustive listing of case studies or scholarly sources, but aims to show the breadth and depth of cetacean research studies supporting and investigating numerous evolutionary themes.

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Section: Examples Of Evolutionary Terms and Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cetaceans as Exemplars of Evolution and Evolutionary Ecology: A Glossary

Werth

2020

Oceans

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“…Epimeletic behavior can be described as caregiving, with individuals acting aggressively or defensively toward intruders who may remove their dead offspring; observations of cetaceans caring for their dead conspecifics were reported as a single or series of events, seemingly having no long‐lasting effects (Bearzi et al . 2018; Bearzi & Reggente 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personality and behavioral changes in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) following the death of herd members

Rutherford

Murray

2020

Integr. Zool.

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Elephants are highly social beings with complex individual personalities. We know that elephants have a general interest in death, investigating carcasses, not just limited to kin; however, research does not explore in depth whether individuals change their behavior or personality following traumatic events, such as the death of a conspecific. Within a captive herd of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) housed at Chester Zoo, UK, we measured social behavior and proximity and personality using the Ten‐Item Personality Inventory, and found age‐related and relationship‐related changes in both behavior and personality following the deaths of herd members. Overall, the herd spent less time socializing and engaging in affiliative behaviors following the death of the adult female when compared to baseline data, yet spent more time engaging in these behaviors after the death of two calves. The death of the central female had a dramatic impact on her infant calf, resulting in increasingly withdrawn behavior, yet had the opposite effect on her adult daughter, who subsequently established a more integrated role within the herd. Emotional Stability fell in the motherless calf but rose in an adult female, who had lost her adult daughter, but had a new calf to care for. We suggest that the greater impact on the behavior and personality of surviving herd members following the deaths of calves, compared to an adult member, attests to the significance of the unifying role played by calves within an elephant herd.

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“…The first three videos showed an individual (a sparrow, an elephant and a macaque, respectively) displaying behaviours towards an inanimate conspecific who suddenly regained consciousness at the end of the footage. These behaviours are interpreted as epimeletic, meaning relating to altruistic behaviour towards an injured animal, mostly described in dolphins [81][82][83][84][85][86][87]. Epimeletic behaviours in animals are maybe the most adequate behaviours to study anthropomorphism as these behaviours are very rarely observed and impossible to test (we will not deliberately injure or kill an individual to assess whether its congeners will save it), and finally, researchers have very little knowledge of the underlying beliefs and mental states of death or fear of death in animals [88][89][90][91].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are They Really Trying to Save Their Buddy? The Anthropomorphism of Animal Epimeletic Behaviours

Sueur

Forin-Wiart

Péle

2020

Animals

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Anthropomorphism is a natural tendency in humans, but it is also influenced by many characteristics of the observer (the human) and the observed entity (here, the animal species). This study asked participants to complete an online questionnaire about three videos showing epimeletic behaviours in three animal species. In the videos, an individual (a sparrow, an elephant and a macaque, respectively) displayed behaviours towards an inanimate conspecific that suddenly regained consciousness at the end of the footage. A fourth video showed a robot dog being kicked by an engineer to demonstrate its stability. Each video was followed by a series of questions designed to evaluate the degree of anthropomorphism of participants, from mentaphobia (no attribution of intentions and beliefs, whatever the animal species) to full anthropomorphism (full attribution of intentions and beliefs by animals, to the same extent as in humans) and to measure how far the participants had correctly assessed each situation in terms of biological reality (current scientific knowledge of each species). There is a negative correlation (about 61%) between the mental states attributed to animals by humans and the real capability of animals. The heterogeneity of responses proved that humans display different forms of anthropomorphism, from rejecting all emotional or intentional states in animals to considering animals to show the same intentions as humans. However, the scores participants attributed to animals differed according to the species shown in the video and to human socio-demographic characteristics. Understanding the potential usefulness of these factors can lead to better relationships with animals and encourage a positive view of human-robot interactions. Indeed, reflective or critical anthropomorphism can increase our humanity.

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Epimeletic Behavior

Cited by 13 publications

References 15 publications

Cetaceans as Exemplars of Evolution and Evolutionary Ecology: A Glossary

Cetaceans as Exemplars of Evolution and Evolutionary Ecology: A Glossary

Personality and behavioral changes in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) following the death of herd members

Are They Really Trying to Save Their Buddy? The Anthropomorphism of Animal Epimeletic Behaviours

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