The Role of Association in Pre-schoolers’ Solutions to “Spoon Tests” of Future Planning

Dickerson, Katherine L.; Ainge, James A.; Seed, Amanda M.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.052

Cited by 26 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Non-tool-making bird species have also shown delayed gratification ability in a tool-use context. Ravens were able to consistently select the correct tool over distractor items including an immediate reward to open a box and obtain a reward, even when the box was missing for up to 17 hours [34], though see [35,36]. Goffin's cockatoos were able to overcome immediate drives in favour of future gains in performance on a delayed gratification tool-use task [33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

et al. 2020

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The ability to make profitable decisions in natural foraging contexts may be influenced by an additional requirement of tool-use, due to increased levels of relational complexity and additional work-effort imposed by tool-use, compared with simply choosing between an immediate and delayed food item. We examined the flexibility for making the most profitable decisions in a multi-dimensional tool-use task, involving different apparatuses, tools and rewards of varying quality, in 3-5-year-old children, adult humans and tool-making New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides). We also compared our results to previous studies on habitually tool-making orangutans (Pongo abelii) and non-tool-making Goffin's cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana). Adult humans, cockatoos and crows, but not children and orangutans, did not select a tool when it was not necessary, which was the more profitable choice in this situation. Adult humans, orangutans and cockatoos, but not crows and children, were able to refrain from selecting non-functional tools. By contrast, the birds, but not the primates tested, struggled to attend to multiple variables-where two apparatuses, two tools and two reward qualities were presented simultaneously-without extended experience. These findings indicate: (1) in a similar manner to humans and orangutans, New Caledonian crows and Goffin's cockatoos can flexibly make profitable decisions in some decision-making tooluse tasks, though the birds may struggle when tasks become more complex; (2) children and orangutans may have a bias to use tools in situations where adults and other tool-making species do not.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

et al. 2020

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“…Furthermore, the current findings are in line with studies reporting that children do not show competence on future planning tasks until age 5 years or older (Atance & Meltzoff, 2005;Coughlin et al, 2014;Dickerson, Ainge, & Seed, 2018;McColgan & McCormack, 2008). These findings, together, suggest that children's capacity to spontaneously prepare for the future-that is, in the absence of prompting provided by adults-may develop later than previously thought.…”

Section: Episodic Foresightsupporting

confidence: 90%

Learning for the future: children’s capacity to acquire information and skills in preparation for a future event

Brinums¹

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The ability to deliberately acquire information and skills in preparation for the future is crucial for the development of expertise, allowing one to choose what to invest time in learning and to intentionally shape one's future self. Despite considerable implications for children's success in schooling and extracurricular endeavours, very little is known about how children develop this Publications included in this thesis

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“…There are certainly areas of the literature on avian cognition where there is great debate as to whether the problem solving performances of birds can be explained by associative learning alone. For example, there is currently debate surrounding the role of associative learning and more complex cognition in research on planning in ravens ( Redshaw et al, 2017 ; Lind, 2018 ; Dickerson et al, 2018 ; Hampton and Hampton, 2019 ), stone-dropping in corvids ( Taylor and Gray, 2009 ; Cheke et al, 2011 ; Taylor et al, 2011 ; Jelbert et al, 2014 ; Logan et al, 2014 ; Ghirlanda and Lind, 2017 ; Hennefield et al, 2018 , 2019 ), and string-pulling in a wide variety of birds ( Taylor et al, 2010b , 2012 ; for a review of the species tested on string pulling, see Jacobs and Osvath, 2015 ). However, several lines of evidence indicate the presence of specific cognitive mechanisms other than associative learning in birds.…”

Section: Intelligent Behavior Beyond Pure Associationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Macphail’s Null Hypothesis of Vertebrate Intelligence: Insights From Avian Cognition

Bastos

Taylor

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Macphail famously criticized two foundational assumptions that underlie the evolutionary approach to comparative psychology: that there are differences in intelligence across species, and that intelligent behavior in animals is based on more than associative learning. Here, we provide evidence from recent work in avian cognition that supports both these assumptions: intelligence across species varies, and animals can perform intelligent behaviors that are not guided solely by associative learning mechanisms. Finally, we reflect on the limitations of comparative psychology that led to Macphail's claims and suggest strategies researchers can use to make more advances in the field.

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The Role of Association in Pre-schoolers’ Solutions to “Spoon Tests” of Future Planning

Cited by 26 publications

References 32 publications

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

Decision-making flexibility in New Caledonian crows, young children and adult humans in a multi-dimensional tool-use task

Learning for the future: children’s capacity to acquire information and skills in preparation for a future event

Macphail’s Null Hypothesis of Vertebrate Intelligence: Insights From Avian Cognition

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