Self-control across species (Columba livia, Homo sapiens, and Rattus norvegicus).

Tobin, Henry; Logue, A. W.

doi:10.1037/0735-7036.108.2.126

Cited by 118 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Species with higher metabolic rates may have shorter waiting times for food because they need food sooner to meet energetic demands [1,17]. Unfortunately, we do not have consistent metabolic rate data for most of the species in this analysis, so we could not test this factor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This could occur because metabolism allometrically scales with body size: species with lower body mass also tend to have faster metabolic rates [14 -16]. Shorter wait times would provide adaptive benefits for individuals with faster metabolic rates, because they simply cannot wait to replenish the energy burned by metabolism [1,17]. Similarly, lifespan scales with body size [16], which also may provide adaptive benefits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolutionary pressures on primate intertemporal choice

Stevens

2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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From finding food to choosing mates, animals must make intertemporal choices that involve fitness benefits available at different times. Species vary dramatically in their willingness to wait for delayed rewards. Why does this variation across species exist? An adaptive approach to intertemporal choice suggests that time preferences should reflect the temporal problems faced in a species's environment. Here, I use phylogenetic regression to test whether allometric factors relating to body size, relative brain size and social group size predict how long 13 primate species will wait in laboratory intertemporal choice tasks. Controlling for phylogeny, a composite allometric factor that includes body mass, absolute brain size, lifespan and home range size predicted waiting times, but relative brain size and social group size did not. These findings support the notion that selective pressures have sculpted intertemporal choices to solve adaptive problems faced by animals. Collecting these types of data across a large number of species can provide key insights into the evolution of decision making and cognition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary pressures on primate intertemporal choice

Stevens

2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…Metabolic rate is relevant for intertemporal choice for food because the rewards directly feed into metabolism. Therefore, species with higher metabolisms need food more quickly and may opt for sooner rewards than those with lower metabolisms (Tobin and Logue, 1994). Life expectancy is also relevant because shorter life spans should make delayed rewards less beneficial, so shorter-lived species should choose sooner rewards (Stevens and Stephens, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intertemporal choice in lemurs

Stevens

Mühlhoff

2012

Behavioural Processes

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Different species vary in their ability to wait for delayed rewards in intertemporal choice tasks. Models of rate maximization account for part of this variation, but other factors such as social structure and feeding ecology seem to underly some species differences. Though studies have evaluated intertemporal choice in several primate species, including Old World monkeys, New World monkeys, and apes, prosimians have not been tested. This study investigated intertemporal choices in three species of lemur (black-and-white ruffed lemurs, Varecia variegata, red ruffed lemurs, Varecia rubra, and black lemurs, Eulemur macaco) to assess how they compare to other primate species and whether their choices are consistent with rate maximization. We offered lemurs a choice between two food items available immediately and six food items available after a delay. We found that by adjusting the delay to the larger reward, the lemurs were indifferent between the two options at a mean delay of 17 s, ranging from 9-25 s. These data are comparable to data collected from common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). The lemur data were not consistent with models of rate maximization. The addition of lemurs to the list of species tested in these tasks will help uncover the role of life history and socio-ecological factors influencing intertemporal choices.

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“…Monkeys seem to have more self control than pigeons or rats (Tobin and Logue 1994;Tobin et al 1996). Experiments with tamarins and marmosets (Stevens et al 2005a, b) suggest the feeding ecology of these monkeys shaped the evolution of self control in those taxa.…”

Section: What-where-how Much and Whenmentioning

confidence: 99%

A socioecological perspective on primate cognition, past and present

Cunningham

Janson

2007

Anim Cogn

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The papers in this special issue examine the relationship between social and ecological cognition in primates. We refer to the intersection of these two domains as socioecological cognition. Examples of socioecological cognition include socially learned predator alarm calls and socially sensitive foraging decisions. In this review we consider how primate cognition may have been shaped by the interaction of social and ecological inXuences in their evolutionary history. The ability to remember distant, out-of-sight locations is an ancient one, shared by many mammals and widespread among primates. It seems some monkeys and apes have evolved the ability to form more complex representations of resources, integrating "what-where-how much" information. This ability allowed anthropoids to live in larger, more cohesive groups by minimizing competition for limited resources between group members. As group size increased, however, competition for resources also increased, selecting for enhanced social skills. Enhanced social skills in turn made a more sophisticated relationship to the environment possible. The interaction of social and ecological inXuences created a spiraling eVect in the evolution of primate intelligence. In contrast, lemurs may not have evolved the ability to form complex representations which would allow them to consider the size and location of resources. This lack in lemur ecological cognition may restrict the size of frugivorous lemur social groups, thereby limiting the complexity of lemur social life. In this special issue, we have brought together two review papers, Wve Weld studies, and one laboratory study to investigate the interaction of social and ecological factors in relation to foraging. Our goal is to stimulate research that considers social and ecological factors acting together on cognitive evolution, rather than in isolation. Cross fertilization of experimental and observational studies from captivity and the Weld is important for increasing our understanding of this relationship.

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Self-control across species (Columba livia, Homo sapiens, and Rattus norvegicus).

Cited by 118 publications

References 35 publications

Evolutionary pressures on primate intertemporal choice

Evolutionary pressures on primate intertemporal choice

Intertemporal choice in lemurs

A socioecological perspective on primate cognition, past and present

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