Novelty at second glance: a critical appraisal of the novel object paradigm based on meta-analysis

Takola, Elina; Krause, Eike; Müller, Caroline; Schielzeth, Holger

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.07.018

Cited by 38 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 150 publications

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“…To properly assess the presence of neophobia, responses are compared to those towards familiar food (Greggor et al 2015). To test object neophobia, individuals are confronted with a novel object close to familiar food within a familiar environment and the latency to eat compared to the control without the novel object is recorded (Greggor et al 2015;Takola et al 2021). Testing food and object neophobia within a familiar environment is important, because background familiarity (context) can affect the intensity of a neophobic reaction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study in the Aegean wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii) tested object neophobia by measuring the time it took lizards to consume food next to an unfamiliar object (De Meester et al 2022). Other studies in lizards focussed on neophilia, the attraction towards novelty (Takola et al 2021). For example, object neophilia was tested in the Italian wall lizard (P. siculus) and the Geniez's wall lizard (P. virescens) to quantify boldness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fear of the new? Geckos hesitate to attack novel prey, feed near objects and enter a novel space

Szabo

Ringler

2022

Anim Cogn

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Neophobia, the fear of novelty, is an ecologically important response which enables animals to avoid potentially harmful situations. Neophobia is a cognitive process by which individuals distinguish novelty from familiarity. In this study, we aimed to quantify this cognitive process in captive tokay geckos (Gekko gecko) across three contexts: when encountering novel prey, foraging near novel objects and entering a novel space. We also investigated individual consistency across trials using different novel stimuli, and correlation of individual responses across the three contexts. We found that geckos hesitate to attack novel prey and prey close to objects (familiar and novel). Geckos hesitated the most when entering novel space. Repeatability of behaviour within and across contexts was low (R = 0.101–0.190) indicating that neophobia might not be expressed similarly across contexts. The strength of a neophobic response can indicate how anxious or curious an individual is. This test has great potential to help answer questions about how captivity, enrichment, rearing environment and cognition affect fear responses in different contexts in lizards. By studying reptiles, we can better understand the universality of what is known about the causes leading to difference in neophobia across individuals and species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear of the new? Geckos hesitate to attack novel prey, feed near objects and enter a novel space

Szabo

Ringler

2022

Anim Cogn

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“…This is also reflected in our repeatability analysis which yielded a low repeatability of only 0.12. A meta-analysis looking at repeatability in novel object tests (both neophobia and neophilia) showed an average repeatability of 0.47 (Takola et al, 2021) while another study looking at repeatability in behaviour reports an average of 0.37 (Bell, Hankison, & Laskowski, 2009). Repeatability of responses towards novel objects and novel foods in corvids was calculated around 0.5 (Miller et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study in the Aegean wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii) tested object neophobia by measuring the time it took lizards to consume food next to an unfamiliar object (De Meester et al, 2022). Other studies in lizards focused on neophilia, the attraction towards novelty (Takola et al, 2021). For example, object neophilia was tested in the Italian wall lizard (P. siculus) and the Geniez's wall lizard (P. virescens) to quantify boldness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To properly assess the presence of neophobia, responses are compared to those towards familiar food (Greggor et al, 2015). To test object neophobia, individuals are confronted with a novel object close to familiar food within a familiar environment and the latency to eat compared to the control without the novel object is recorded (Greggor et al, 2015;Takola, Krause, Müller, & Schielzeth, 2021). Testing food and object neophobia within a familiar environment is important, because background familiarity (context) can affect the intensity of a neophobic reaction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fear of the new? Geckos hesitate to attack novel prey, feed near objects and enter a novel space

Szabo

Ringler

2022

Preprint

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Neophobia, the fear of novelty, is an ecologically important response which enables animals to avoid potentially harmful situations. Low levels of neophobia have been linked to elevated dispersal/ migration, invasiveness and living in human modified landscapes albeit only in birds and mammals. In this study, we assessed neophobia in captive Tokay geckos (Gekko gecko). We expected to find low neophobia in our geckos because they are invasive and adopt well to anthropogenic environments. This species is, however, also both predator and prey in the wild which might select for higher neophobia. We tested neophobia in three contexts: attacking novel prey, foraging near novel objects and entering a novel space. We aimed to quantify (1) neophobia in these contexts, (2) individual consistency across trials using different novel stimuli, and (3) correlation of individual responses across the three contexts. We found that geckos hesitate to attack novel prey and prey close to objects (familiar and novel). Geckos hesitated the most when entering novel space and repeatability of behaviour across contexts was low (R = 0.12) indicating that neophobia might not be a single trait. The strength of a neophobic response can indicate how anxious or curious an individual is. This test has great potential to help answer questions about how captivity, enrichment, rearing environment and cognition affect fear responses in different contexts in lizards. By studying reptiles, we can better understand the universality of what is known about the causes leading to difference in neophobia across individuals and species.

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Animism: Among Animals

Whitham

2024

Encyclopedia of Religious Psychology and Behavior

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Novelty at second glance: a critical appraisal of the novel object paradigm based on meta-analysis

Cited by 38 publications

References 150 publications

Fear of the new? Geckos hesitate to attack novel prey, feed near objects and enter a novel space

Fear of the new? Geckos hesitate to attack novel prey, feed near objects and enter a novel space

Fear of the new? Geckos hesitate to attack novel prey, feed near objects and enter a novel space

Animism: Among Animals

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