Visual attention, an indicator of human-animal relationships? A study of domestic horses (Equus caballus).
Abstract: As visual attention is an intrinsic part of social relationships, and because relationships are built on a succession of interactions, their establishment involves learning and attention. The emotional, rewarding or punishing, content can modulate selective attention. In horses, the use of positive/negative reinforcement during training determines short and long-term human-horse relationships. In a recent study in horses, where either food or withers' grooming were used as a reward, it appeared that only the food-rewarded horses learned the task and show better relationship with humans. In the present study, we hypothesized that this differential effect of grooming/food rewards on learning performances could be due to attentional processes. Monitoring, gazes and behaviors directed towards the trainer revealed that the use of a food reward (FR) as positive reinforcement increased horses' selective attention towards their trainer. Conversely, horses trained with grooming reward (GR) expressed more inattentive responses and did not show a decrease of "agitated" behavior. However, individual plotting of attention vs. rate of learning performances revealed a complex pattern. Thus, while all FR horses showed a "window" of attention related to faster learning performances, GR horses' pattern followed an almost normal curve where the extreme animals (i.e., highest and lowest attention) had the slowest learning performances. On the other hand, learning was influenced by attention: at the end of training, the more attentive horses had also better learning performances. This study, based on horses, contributes to the general debate on the place of attentional processes at the interface of emotion and cognition and opens new lines of thought about individual sensitivities (only individuals can tell what an appropriate reward is), attentional processes and learning.
Publication Date: 2014-02-13 PubMed ID: 24592244PubMed Central: PMC3923161DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00108Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
The research discusses the impact of rewards, specifically food or grooming, on the learning performances and human-animal relationships of horses. It suggests that food-rewarded horses not only learn tasks better, but also have a better relationship with humans, being more attentive to their trainers than those rewarded with grooming.
Research Objectives and Hypothesis
- The research first sets out to explore the differential impact of food and grooming rewards on the learning performance of horses. The hypothesis is that food rewards as positive reinforcement increase the selective attention of horses towards their trainer, thereby enhancing their learning performances.
- The research also aims to examine the correlation between the type of rewards and the human-horse relationship. This is based on the premise that selective attention, which is indicative of the horse’s relationship with humans, is modulated by the emotional content of the interactions, in this case, the rewarding or punishing experiences.
Methods
- The study involved monitoring gazes and behaviors directed towards the trainer as a measure of attention. The behaviors monitored included ‘agitated’ behavior exhibited by the horses.
- The rewards used in the training were food and grooming. The impact of these rewards on learning performances and attention was studied over a course of time.
Results
- The study found that horses trained with food rewards showed increased selective attention towards their trainer, and thereby better learning performances. These were the horses that established a better relationship with humans.
- Conversely, the horses trained with grooming reward expressed inattentive responses, did not show a decrease in ‘agitated’ behavior, and had slower learning performances.
- A complex pattern revealed that while all food-rewarded horses showed a ‘window’ of attention related to faster learning performances, the grooming-rewarded horses followed a normal curve where the extreme horses (highest and lowest attention) had the slowest learning performances.
- Additionally, the study found that the more attentive horses at the end of training had better learning performances, confirming that learning was influenced by attention.
Conclusions and Implications
- The study provides significant contributions to the understanding of attentional processes at the interface of emotion and cognition, particularly in the context of human-animal relationships.
- It opens new lines of thought about individual sensitivities, suggesting that only individuals can truly evaluate what an appropriate reward is. Thus, for effective training of horses, it is important to recognize and employ the correct rewarding methods.
- Furthermore, it underscores the importance of attentional processes in learning. Among horses at least, attentiveness towards the trainer, influenced by the type of reward, significantly enhances learning performance.
Cite This Article
APA
Rochais C, Henry S, Sankey C, Nassur F, Góracka-Bruzda A, Hausberger M.
(2014).
Visual attention, an indicator of human-animal relationships? A study of domestic horses (Equus caballus).
Front Psychol, 5, 108.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00108 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Laboratoire d'Éthologie Animale et Humaine EthoS - UMR CNRS 6552, Université de Rennes 1 Paimpont, France.
- Laboratoire d'Éthologie Animale et Humaine EthoS - UMR CNRS 6552, Université de Rennes 1 Paimpont, France.
- Laboratoire d'Éthologie Animale et Humaine EthoS - UMR CNRS 6552, Université de Rennes 1 Paimpont, France.
- Laboratoire d'Éthologie Animale et Humaine EthoS - UMR CNRS 6552, Université de Rennes 1 Rennes, France.
- Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding, Jastrzebiec Magdalenka, Poland.
- Laboratoire d'Éthologie Animale et Humaine EthoS - UMR CNRS 6552, Université de Rennes 1 Paimpont, France ; Laboratoire d'Éthologie Animale et Humaine EthoS - UMR CNRS 6552, Université de Rennes 1 Rennes, France.
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