scholarly journals Response to Novelty Correlates with Learning Rate in a Go/No-Go Task in Göttingen Minipigs

2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanna Marie Lind ◽  
Anette Moustgaard
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Total Duration ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Learning Rate ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Novelty Seeking ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Novel Objects

Novelty-seeking and harm-avoidance personality traits influence Go/No-go (GNG) learning in humans. Animal studies have also indicated a link between response to novelty and spatial discrimination learning. In the present study, we test the hypothesis that learning rate in a GNG task correlates with the behavioral response of Göttingen minipigs to novelty. In a group of 12 minipigs of mixed genders, response to novelty was measured by numbers of contacts with a novel object, and the total duration of exploration of the novel object. These parameters were correlated to individual learning rate in a GNG task. The number of sessions to reach criterion in the GNG task correlated significantly with the number of contacts to a novel object (r = 0.70, p = 0.03), but not with the duration of object exploration (r = 0.29, p = 0.41). Thus, pigs with a low behavioral response to novelty learned the GNG task faster than did pigs with a strong behavioral response to novelty, indicated by the tendency to approach novel objects. We hypothesize that the critical factor in this relation is difference in emotional reactivity rather than difference in motivation for exploration. In conclusion, in addition to ‘cognitive’ ability, ‘temperamental’ factors are likely to influence learning in individual pigs.

scholarly journals Disfluencies signal reference to novel objects for adults but not children

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 581-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah J. OWENS ◽  
Justine M. THACKER ◽  
Susan A. GRAHAM
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Filled Pauses ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Novel Targets ◽  
The Way ◽  
Familiar Objects

AbstractSpeech disfluencies can guide the ways in which listeners interpret spoken language. Here, we examined whether three-year-olds, five-year-olds, and adults use filled pauses to anticipate that a speaker is likely to refer to a novel object. Across three experiments, participants were presented with pairs of novel and familiar objects and heard a speaker refer to one of the objects using a fluent (“Look at the ball/lep!”) or disfluent (“Look at thee uh ball/lep!”) expression. The salience of the speaker's unfamiliarity with the novel referents, and the way in which the speaker referred to the novel referents (i.e., a noun vs. a description) varied across experiments. Three- and five-year-olds successfully identified familiar and novel targets, but only adults’ looking patterns reflected increased looks to novel objects in the presence of a disfluency. Together, these findings demonstrate that adults, but not young children, use filled pauses to anticipate reference to novel objects.

scholarly journals Feature Deformation Meta-Networks in Image Captioning of Novel Objects

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (07) ◽  
pp. 10494-10501
Author(s):  
Tingjia Cao ◽  
Ke Han ◽  
Xiaomei Wang ◽  
Lin Ma ◽  
Yanwei Fu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Image Features ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Image Captioning ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Detection Model ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Visual Concepts ◽  
Set Sharing ◽  
Ablation Study ◽  
Object Features

This paper studies the task of image captioning with novel objects, which only exist in testing images. Intrinsically, this task can reflect the generalization ability of models in understanding and captioning the semantic meanings of visual concepts and objects unseen in training set, sharing the similarity to one/zero-shot learning. The critical difficulty thus comes from that no paired images and sentences of the novel objects can be used to help train the captioning model. Inspired by recent work (Chen et al. 2019b) that boosts one-shot learning by learning to generate various image deformations, we propose learning meta-networks for deforming features for novel object captioning. To this end, we introduce the feature deformation meta-networks (FDM-net), which is trained on source data, and learn to adapt to the novel object features detected by the auxiliary detection model. FDM-net includes two sub-nets: feature deformation, and scene graph sentence reconstruction, which produce the augmented image features and corresponding sentences, respectively. Thus, rather than directly deforming images, FDM-net can efficiently and dynamically enlarge the paired images and texts by learning to deform image features. Extensive experiments are conducted on the widely used novel object captioning dataset, and the results show the effectiveness of our FDM-net. Ablation study and qualitative visualization further give insights of our model.

Orienting to third-party conversations

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARMEN MARTÍNEZ-SUSSMANN ◽  
NAMEERA AKHTAR ◽  
GIL DIESENDRUCK ◽  
LORI MARKSON
Keyword(s):  
Third Party ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Neutral Information ◽  
The Third ◽  
Gaze Patterns ◽  
New Information ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
The Third Party

ABSTRACTChildren as young as two years of age are able to learn novel object labels through overhearing, even when distracted by an attractive toy (Akhtar, 2005). The present studies varied the information provided about novel objects and examined which elements (i.e. novel versus neutral information and labels versus facts) toddlers chose to monitor, and what type of information they were more likely to learn. In Study 1, participants learned only the novel label and the novel fact containing a novel label. In Study 2, only girls learned the novel label. Neither girls nor boys learned the novel fact. In both studies, analyses of children's gaze patterns suggest that children who learned the new information strategically oriented to the third-party conversation.

scholarly journals Curious creatures: a multi-taxa investigation of responses to novelty in a zoo environment

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda A. Hall ◽  
Vicky Melfi ◽  
Alicia Burns ◽  
David M. McGill ◽  
Rebecca E. Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Total Duration ◽  
Single Species ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Stationary Object ◽  
Object A ◽  
Barbary Sheep ◽  
Captive Populations ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Geochelone Elegans ◽  
Different Characteristics

The personality trait of curiosity has been shown to increase welfare in humans. If this positive welfare effect is also true for non-humans, animals with high levels of curiosity may be able to cope better with stressful situations than their conspecifics. Before discoveries can be made regarding the effect of curiosity on an animal’s ability to cope in their environment, a way of measuring curiosity across species in different environments must be created to standardise testing. To determine the suitability of novel objects in testing curiosity, species from different evolutionary backgrounds with sufficient sample sizes were chosen. Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) n = 12, little penguins (Eudyptula minor) n = 10, ringtail lemurs (Lemur catta) n = 8,red tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus banksia) n = 7, Indian star tortoises (Geochelone elegans) n = 5 and red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) n = 5 were presented with a stationary object, a moving object and a mirror. Having objects with different characteristics increased the likelihood individuals would find at least one motivating. Conspecifics were all assessed simultaneously for time to first orientate towards object (s), latency to make contact (s), frequency of interactions, and total duration of interaction (s). Differences in curiosity were recorded in four of the six species; the Barbary sheep and red tailed black cockatoos did not interact with the novel objects suggesting either a low level of curiosity or that the objects were not motivating for these animals. Variation in curiosity was seen between and within species in terms of which objects they interacted with and how long they spent with the objects. This was determined by the speed in which they interacted, and the duration of interest. By using the measure of curiosity towards novel objects with varying characteristics across a range of zoo species, we can see evidence of evolutionary, husbandry and individual influences on their response. Further work to obtain data on multiple captive populations of a single species using a standardised method could uncover factors that nurture the development of curiosity. In doing so, it would be possible to isolate and modify sub-optimal husbandry practices to improve welfare in the zoo environment.

scholarly journals Social Referencing in the Domestic Horse

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Schrimpf ◽  
Marie-Sophie Single ◽  
Christian Nawroth
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Social Referencing ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Test Arena ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Domestic Species ◽  
Emotional Cues ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Negative Condition

Dogs and cats use human emotional information directed to an unfamiliar situation to guide their behavior, known as social referencing. It is not clear whether other domestic species show similar socio-cognitive abilities in interacting with humans. We investigated whether horses (n = 46) use human emotional information to adjust their behavior to a novel object and whether the behavior of horses differed depending on breed type. Horses were randomly assigned to one of two groups: an experimenter positioned in the middle of a test arena directed gaze and voice towards the novel object with either (a) a positive or (b) a negative emotional expression. The duration of subjects’ position to the experimenter and the object in the arena, frequency of gazing behavior, and physical interactions (with either object or experimenter) were analyzed. Horses in the positive condition spent more time between the experimenter and object compared to horses in the negative condition, indicating less avoidance behavior towards the object. Horses in the negative condition gazed more often towards the object than horses in the positive condition, indicating increased vigilance behavior. Breed types differed in their behavior: thoroughbreds showed less human-directed behavior than warmbloods and ponies. Our results provide evidence that horses use emotional cues from humans to guide their behavior towards novel objects.

The pragmatics of discovery constrains children’s tendency to map novel labels onto novel objects

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-274
Author(s):  
Jenna L. Wall ◽  
William E. Merriman
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Sense Modality ◽  
Visible Object ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Modality Shift ◽  
Test Objects ◽  
Metacognitive Ability

When taught a label for an object, and later asked whether that object or a novel object is the referent of a novel label, preschoolers favor the novel object. This article examines whether this so-called disambiguation effect may be undermined by an expectation to communicate about a discovery. This expectation may explain why 4-year-olds do not show the disambiguation effect if a sense modality shift occurs between training and test. In Study 1, 3- and 4-year-olds learned a label for a visible object, then examined two hidden objects manually and predicted which one they would be asked about. Only the older group predicted that they would be asked about the object that matched the visible object. Study 1 also included a test of the standard disambiguation effect, where both the training and test objects were visible. Both 3- and 4-year-olds showed a weaker disambiguation effect in this test when the matching object was unexpected rather than expected. In Study 2, both age groups predicted they would be asked about this object when it was unexpected. In Study 3, both age groups showed a stronger disambiguation effect when allowed to communicate about this object before deciding which object was the referent of a novel label. Metacognitive ability predicted the strength of this disambiguation effect even after controlling for age and inhibitory control. The article discusses various explanations for why only 4-year-olds abided by the pragmatics of discovery in the test of the cross-modal disambiguation effect, but both 3- and 4-year-olds abided by it in the test of the standard disambiguation effect.

Mutual exclusivity and phonological novelty constrain word learning at 16 months

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 933-950 ◽  
Author(s):  
EMILY MATHER ◽  
KIM PLUNKETT
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Mutual Exclusivity ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Preferential Looking ◽  
Novel Objects

ABSTRACTStudies report that infants as young as 1 ; 3 to 1 ; 5 will seek out a novel object in response to hearing a novel label (e.g. Halberda, 2003; Markman, Wasow & Hansen, 2003). This behaviour is commonly known as the ‘mutual exclusivity’ response (Markman, 1989; 1990). However, evidence for mutual exclusivity does not imply that the infant has associated a novel label with a novel object. We used an intermodal preferential looking task to investigate whether infants aged 1 ; 4 could use mutual exclusivity to guide their association of novel labels with novel objects. The results show that infants can successfully map a novel label onto a novel object, provided that the novel label has no familiar phonological neighbours. Therefore, as early as 1 ; 4, infants can use mutual exclusivity to form novel word–object associations, although this process is constrained by the phonological novelty of a label.

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

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Takola ◽  
E. T. Krause ◽  
C. Müller ◽  
H. Schielzeth
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Standardized Testing ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Food Label ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Individual Consistency

ABSTRACTThe study of consistent individual differences in behaviour has become an important focus in research on animal behaviour. Behavioural phenotypes are typically measured through standardized testing paradigms and one frequently used paradigm is the novel object test. In novel object tests, animals are exposed to new (unknown) objects and their reaction is quantified. When repeating trials to assess the temporal consistency of individual differences, researchers face the dilemma of whether to use the same or different ‘novel’ objects, since the same stimulus can result in habituation, while exposure to different objects can result in context-dependent responses. We performed a quantitative assessment of 254 effect sizes from 113 studies on novel-object trials to evaluate the properties of this testing paradigm, in particular the effect of object novelty and time interval between novel-object trials on estimates of individual consistency. We found an increase of sample sizes and an increase of estimates of repeatabilities with time. The vast majority of short-term studies (<one month) used different novel objects, while long-term studies (>one month) used either the same or different novel objects about equally often. The average estimate for individual consistency was r = 0.47 (short-term r = 0.52, long-term r = 0.44). Novelty, time interval between trials and their interaction together explained only 3% of the total heterogeneity. Overall, novelobject trials reliably estimate individual differences in behaviour, but results were very heterogeneous even within the same study species, suggesting susceptibility to unknown details in testing conditions. Most studies that measure novel-object responses in association with food label the trait as neophobia, while novel-object trials in a neutral context are labelled variously as boldness/shyness, exploratory behaviour or neophobia/neophilia. Neophobia/neophilia is also the term most specific to novel object presentations. To avoid ambiguity, we suggest object neophobia/neophilia as the most specific label for novel-object responses.

scholarly journals Relationships between Thoroughbreds’ Contribution in the Pedigree and the Level of Fearfulness and Performance in Warmblood Stallions

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Budzyńska Monika ◽  
Kamieniak Jarosław ◽  
Marciniak Beata ◽  
Sołtys Leszek
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Performance Tests ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Percentage Contribution ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Potential Factor ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Fear Reactivity

Abstract The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that Thoroughbred (TB) ancestors blood percentage in a pedigree is a potential factor differentiating the level of fearfulness (based on behavior and heart rate (HR)) and performance scores in warmblood stallions. A total of 267 three-year-old warmblood stallions were subjected to the novel-object based test during their participation in the performance tests’ program. The effect of ancestors percentage contribution in the pedigree was analyzed by taking into account horses of four TB (<25.01, 25.01-50.00, 50.01-75.00, >75.00%) ancestor groups. It was found that the stallions with a higher proportion (>75.00%) of TB blood revealed higher values of HR measured at the riding hall just before the start of the fearfulness test. The results showed that the higher proportions of TB ancestors blood in the stallions’ pedigree were correlated with the higher values for total time to pass novel objects when led by a handler during the fearfulness test. Negative correlations were found between the TB percentage and the scores for character and trot evaluated by the trainer as well as rideability evaluated by the test rider. The fi ndings imply that a high proportion of Thoroughbreds in the pedigree may negatively infl uence some performance traits and increase fear reactivity in warmblood stallions.

scholarly journals Children's difficulty in learning homonyms

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN J. DOHERTY
Keyword(s):  
Task Demands ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Developmental Difficulty

Mazzocco (1997) claimed that children have persistent difficulty in learning pseudo-homonyms – words like rope used to refer to a novel object (e.g. spade). Because the novel objects were familiar, the pseudo-homonyms in her study were also synonyms (i.e. rope and spade both now mean spade). The results could therefore be due to children's well-known difficulties in learning synonyms. In Experiment 1, 55 six- to ten-year-olds used story context to select referents for pseudo-homonyms from picture sets containing the intended referents, with primary referents amongst the distractors. Children were equally poor when the intended referents were familiar (e.g. spade) as when they were unfamiliar (e.g. tapir) – 35 and 38% correct, respectively. This indicates that familiarity of referent does not account for children's difficulties. In Experiment 2, 64 five- to ten-year-olds received instruction about homonymy, then a story set without pictures of the primary referents, in order to make the experimenter's intentions clear. Children were then shown one of the story sets from Experiment 1. Performance was just as poor (38% correct), indicating that misunderstanding of task demands did not account for failure. The conclusion is that Mazzocco's findings represent a psychologically interesting developmental difficulty.

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