scholarly journals Persistence is key: Investigating innovation and problem solving by Asian elephants using a novel multi-access box

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L Jacobson ◽  
Amanda Puitiza ◽  
Rebecca J Snyder ◽  
Ashley Sheppard ◽  
Joshua M Plotnik
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Behavioral Flexibility ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
Test Session ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Asian Elephants ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Multi Access

Innovative problem solving is considered a hallmark measure of behavioral flexibility as it describes behavior by which an animal uses previous experience to manipulate its environment to reach a goal. Elephants are a highly social taxa known for their ability to adapt to volatile environments. While innovation has been observed in elephants, one question is how behavioral traits associated with it vary at the individual level. To understand how individual differences in behavior impact expressions of innovation, we used a novel extractive foraging device comprised of three compartments to evaluate innovation in 14 captive Asian elephants. In the first phase of testing, elephants had an opportunity to learn one solution, while the second phase gave them an opportunity to innovate to open two other compartments with different solutions. We measured the behavioral traits of neophilia, persistence, motivation, and exploratory diversity, and hypothesized that higher levels of each would be associated with more innovation and success. Eight elephants innovated to solve three compartments, three solved two, and two solved only one. Consistent with studies in other species, we found that higher innovation scores and success were associated with greater persistence, but not with any other behavioral traits when analyzed per test session. Greater persistence and lower exploratory diversity were associated with success when analyzed at the level of each individual door. Further work is needed to understand how innovation varies both within and between species, with particular attention to the potential impact of anthropogenic change.

The Development of Distinct Choice Process Segments over Time: A Stochastic Modeling Approach

1982 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R. Lehmann ◽  
William L. Moore ◽  
Terry Elrod
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Stochastic Modeling ◽  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Response Behavior ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Amount Of Information ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Over Time

This paper examines Howard's (1963) typology dividing decision making into extensive problem solving (ESP), limited problem solving (LSP), and routinized response behavior (RRB). Specifically, the amount of information accessed in a longitudinal experiment is studied. Information acquisition is modeled stochastically at the individual level, and the existence of two segments (LSP and RRB) is tested in a nested-model framework.

scholarly journals Characteristics of urban environments and novel problem-solving performance in Eurasian red squirrels

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1947) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pizza Ka Yee Chow ◽  
Kenta Uchida ◽  
Auguste M. P. von Bayern ◽  
Itsuro Koizumi
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Environmental Characteristics ◽  
Red Squirrels ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual

Urban environments can be deemed ‘harsh’ for some wildlife species, but individuals frequently show behavioural flexibility to cope with challenges and demands posed by life in the city. For example, urban animals often show better performance in solving novel problems than rural conspecifics, which helps when using novel resources under human-modified environments. However, which characteristics of urban environments fine-tune novel problem-solving performance, and their relative importance, remain unclear. Here, we examined how four urban environmental characteristics (direct human disturbance, indirect human disturbance, size of green coverage and squirrel population size) may potentially influence novel problem-solving performance of a successful ‘urban dweller’, the Eurasian red squirrel, by presenting them with a novel food-extraction problem. We found that increased direct human disturbance, indirect human disturbance and a higher squirrel population size decreased the proportion of solving success at the population level. At the individual level, an increase in squirrel population size decreased the latency to successfully solve the novel problem the first time. More importantly, increased direct human disturbance, squirrel population size and experience with the novel problem decreased problem-solving time over time. These findings highlight that some urban environmental characteristics shape two phenotypic extremes in the behaviour-flexibility spectrum: individuals either demonstrated enhanced learning or they failed to solve the novel problem.

The Development and Validation of a Momentary Self-Regulation Scale (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Scherer ◽  
Sunny Jung Kim ◽  
Stephen A. Metcalf ◽  
Mary Ann Sweeney ◽  
Jialing Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensation Seeking ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Health Risk Behaviors ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Development And Validation

BACKGROUND Self-regulation refers to a person’s ability to manage their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes to achieve long-term goals. Most prior research has examined self-regulation at the individual-level, but individual-level assessments does not allow examining dynamic patterns of intra-individual variability in self-regulation and and thus cannot aid in understanding potential malleable processes of self-regulation that may occur in response to daily environment. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to advance the scope of self-regulation measurements by developing a brief, psychometrically sound momentary self-regulation scale that can be practically administered through participants’ mobile devices at a momentary level. METHODS The research was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, in a sample of 522 adults, we examined 23 previously validated assessments of self-regulation containing 594 items in total to evaluate the underlying structure of self-regulation via exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. We then selected 20 trait-level items to be carried forward to the second phase. In the second phase, we converted each item to a momentary question and piloted the momentary items in a sample of 60 adults over 14 days. Using results from the momentary pilot, we explored the psychometric properties of the items and assessed their underlying structure. We then proposed a set of subscale and total score calculations. RESULTS In the first phase, the selected individual-level items appeared to measure four factors of self-regulation. The factors identified were: perseverance, sensation seeking, emotion regulation, and mindfulness. In the second phase EMA pilot, the selected items demonstrated strong construct validity as well as predictive validity for health risk behaviors. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide a 12-item momentary self-regulation scale comprising four subscales designed to capture self-regulatory dynamics at a momentary level.

Cooperativeness vs Competitiveness: Initial Findings regarding Effects on the Performance of Individual and Group Problem-Solving

1996 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa J. B. Kline ◽  
Yvonne P. Sell
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Group Problem ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Group Problem Solving ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Gender Groups ◽  
Mixed Gender

Six mixed-gender groups ( ns = 3 to 5 each), comprised of either highly competitive (two groups), highly cooperative (two groups), or highly competitive and highly cooperative (two groups) individuals, participated. Participants first engaged in a cooperative problem-solving exercise and then completed an ill-structured problem, the Moon Survival Task, first on their own and then as a group. Analysis showed no differences in performance by individuals or groups; however, there was improvement in performance at the group level over the individual level, particularly for those individuals in the highly cooperative/highly competitive group. Findings do not support widely held assumptions about the utility of cooperativeness and detriment of competitiveness or of the possible advantage a cooperative rather than a competitive group may hold for women in particular.

scholarly journals Persistence is key: investigating innovative problem solving by Asian elephants using a novel multi-access box

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Jacobson ◽  
Amanda Puitiza ◽  
Rebecca J. Snyder ◽  
Ashley Sheppard ◽  
Joshua M. Plotnik
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Asian Elephants ◽  
Multi Access

scholarly journals Ants’ Personality and Its Dependence on Foraging Styles: Research Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhanna Reznikova
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycles ◽  
Behavioral Consistency ◽  
Ant Colonies ◽  
Personal Traits ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Eusocial Insects ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
The Individual

The paper is devoted to analyzing consistent individual differences in behavior, also known as “personalities,” in the context of a vital ant task—the detection and transportation of food. I am trying to elucidate the extent to which collective cognition is individual-based and whether a single individual’s actions can suffice to direct the entire colony or colony units. The review analyzes personalities in various insects with different life cycles and provides new insights into the role of individuals in directing group actions in ants. Although it is widely accepted that, in eusocial insects, colony personality emerges from the workers’ personalities, there are only a few examples of investigations of personality at the individual level. The central question of the review is how the distribution of behavioral types and cognitive responsibilities within ant colonies depends on a species’ foraging style. In the context of how workers’ behavioral traits display during foraging, a crucial question is what makes an ant a scout that discovers a new food source and mobilizes its nestmates. In mass recruiting, tandem-running, and even in group-recruiting species displaying leadership, the division of labor between scouts and recruits appears to be ephemeral. There is only little, if any, evidence of ants’ careers and behavioral consistency as leaders. Personal traits characterize groups of individuals at the colony level but not performers of functional roles during foraging. The leader-scouting seems to be the only known system that is based on a consistent personal difference between scouting and foraging individuals.

scholarly journals Measuring the Impact of Interdependence on Individuals During Collaborative Problem-Solving

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-94
Author(s):  
Zachari Swiecki
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Task Design ◽  
Collaborative Problem Solving ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Collaborative Problem ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Level Of Analysis ◽  
Over Time

Collaboration analytics often focuses on assessing and monitoring individuals during collaborative problem-solving (CPS). A defining feature of CPS is the interdependence that exists between individuals when they work together — that is, how they respond to and influence one another over time. While models that account for the impact of interdependence at the individual level of analysis (interdependent models) exist, they are often highly complex. This complexity makes them potentially difficult to use in assessments and systems that need to be explainable for educators, learners, and other researchers. Measures of the impact of interdependence at the individual level of analysis could inform decisions as to whether interdependent models should be used, or whether simpler models will suffice. Such measures could also be used to investigate specific questions about interdependence in collaborative settings. In this paper, I present a novel method of measuring the impact of interdependence on individuals using epistemic network analysis. To provide evidence of the validity of the measure, I compare it to qualitative findings that describe the impact of interdependence on individuals participating in team training scenarios. To demonstrate the value of the measure, I use it to assess the impact of interdependence in these data overall and to test hypotheses regarding the collaborative task design. My results suggest that the measure can distinguish between individuals who have been impacted by interdependence differently, that interdependence is impactful in these data overall, and that aspects of the task design may have affected how some individuals were impacted by interdependence.

New Developments in the Understanding and Treatment of Suicidal Behaviour

1992 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew K. MacLeod ◽  
J. Mark G. Williams ◽  
Marsha M. Linehan
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Suicidal Behaviour ◽  
General Level ◽  
Psychological Processes ◽  
Behaviour Therapy ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship

Recent developments in the understanding, assessment and treatment of suicidal behaviour are reviewed. The accumulated social and demographic knowledge of suicidal populations has proved to be clinically useful in shaping the general level of concern, but at the individual level an understanding of the psychological processes involved in suicidal behaviour is required. Studies examining psychological processes involved in suicidal behaviour is required. Studies examining psychological processes in parasuicidal groups have revealed a number of deficits, including poor interpersonal problem solving, hopelessness about the future, and reduced ability to regulate affect. Research has also begun to look at some of the processes underlying these deficits, such as over-general retrieval of autobiographical memories and reduced anticipation of specific positive experiences. The clinical picture is now more optimistic, with therapies, such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, which focus on using problem solving strategies with those clients who are most vulnerable to repeat parasuicide episodes, producing demonstrable delays in parasuicide and reduced risk of repetition. The importance of the relationship between research and clinical practice is emphasized.

Differential Effects of Competence and Morality on Self-Esteem at the Individual and the Collective Level

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-198
Author(s):  
Wiktor Soral ◽  
Mirosław Kofta
Keyword(s):  
Self Esteem ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual

Abstract. The importance of various trait dimensions explaining positive global self-esteem has been the subject of numerous studies. While some have provided support for the importance of agency, others have highlighted the importance of communion. This discrepancy can be explained, if one takes into account that people define and value their self both in individual and in collective terms. Two studies ( N = 367 and N = 263) examined the extent to which competence (an aspect of agency), morality, and sociability (the aspects of communion) promote high self-esteem at the individual and the collective level. In both studies, competence was the strongest predictor of self-esteem at the individual level, whereas morality was the strongest predictor of self-esteem at the collective level.

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