Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Choice Behavior”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 973 records · Page 54Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Are capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) inequity averse?

It has been reported that capuchin monkeys reject a less preferred food (LPF) when they see a partner capuchin receive a more preferred food (PF) for performing the same task. This behaviour was taken as evidence of 'inequity aversion', but an alternative hypothesis is that capuchins reject the LPF because of the mere presence of the PF. We tested this hypothesis in a paradigm, which consisted of presenting two different foods (one PF and one LPF) on a tray and allowing the capuchin to take only the LPF. Refusals to initiate the trial and refusals to take and eat the LPF were higher when the PF was hidden (hiding condition) and when the PF was accumulated in sight but out of reach of the subject (accumulation condition) compared to when two pieces of LPF were placed on the tray (control condition). Interestingly, the subject behaved as in the control condition when its partner was given and ate the PF (partner condition). We argue that capuchins' refusals were due to the frustration of seeing and not obtaining the PF, and that seeing the partner eating increases the LPF acceptance.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Young children's understanding of the causes of anger and sadness.

This study investigated kindergarten children's understanding of the causes of anger and sadness. Previous research has shown that before 6 or 7 years of age, children have difficulty distinguishing hypothetical situations designed to evoke anger from those designed to evoke sadness. In this project, 80 kindergarten children (ages 5-1 to 6-5, M = 5-10) predicted and explained protagonists' emotional responses to a variety of hypothetical events. The results showed that intentional harm was not the feature young children used to distinguish anger from sadness. Children predicted anger most often when they believed that protagonists could change undesirable situations and reinstate their goals and when children focused on the person or conditions that brought about undesirable situations. Children predicted sadness most often when they believed that goal reinstatement was impossible and focused on the losses that would ensue as a result.

Affect↗
PubMed2005

Less is more: executive function and symbolic representation in preschool children.

Executive function is recognized as a critical component of children's cognitive and social development. In two studies, a measure of executive function that had been used in research with chimpanzees was adapted for preschoolers. On this task, called Less Is More, children must point to a smaller reward (two candies) to receive a larger reward (five candies). In Study 1 (N= 101), performance was significantly related to age (3 vs. 4), verbal ability, and established measures of executive function. In Study 2 (N= 128), symbolic representations substituted for real candies in this task. Three-year-olds' performance improved significantly as a function of symbolic distancing. This research has implications for the role of symbol systems in the development of executive control over thought and action.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2006

Behavioural genetics: why eugenic selection is preferable to enhancement.

Criminal behaviour is but one behavioural tendency for which a genetic influence has been suggested. Whilst this research certainly raises difficult ethical questions and is subject to scientific criticism, one recent research project suggests that for some families, criminal tendency might be predicted by genetics. In this paper, supposing this research is valid, we consider whether intervening in the criminal tendency of future children is ethically justifiable. We argue that, if avoidance of harm is a paramount consideration, such an intervention is acceptable when genetic selection is employed instead of genetic enhancement. Moreover, other moral problems in avoiding having children with a tendency to criminal behaviour, such as the prospect of social discrimination, can also be overcome.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed2004

Sense of taste in a New World monkey, the common marmoset. II. Link between behavior and nerve activity.

In a previous study, we characterized the gustatory system of a New World monkey the common marmoset, Callithrix jacchus jacchus, with electrophysiological techniques by recording from taste fibers of the chorda tympani proper (CT) and glossopharyngeal (NG) nerves. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified three clusters of taste fibers: S fibers, responding predominantly to sweeteners, Q fibers, responding predominantly to bitter stimuli, and H fibers, responding predominantly to acids. In this study, we employed two behavioral techniques, the two-bottle preference (TBP) and conditioned taste aversion (CTA), to study the taste of the compounds used in the previous electrophysiological study. The results showed that compounds that did not stimulate any taste fibers were neither preferred nor rejected. Compounds that activated only S fibers were always preferred over water. When aversion to sucrose was created by the CTA method, these compounds were rejected. Compounds that activated Q fibers were rejected and consumed less than water. We studied the relationship between intake and net response from S and Q fibers in the CT and NG nerves. Intake was measured as a preference ratio in TBP test. The net response was defined as: (S(CT) + S(NG)) - (Q(CT) + Q(NG)), where S(CT) + S(NG) denotes the sum of the responses in S fibers of the CT and NG nerves. Similarly, Q(CT) + Q(NG) represents the sum of the responses in Q fibers of the CT and NG nerves. The relationship between intake and the Net response was linear with a Pearson correlation coefficient 0.85. This study supports our hypothesis that intake is influenced by S and Q fibers, where S fibers serve as a hedonically positive input and Q fibers as a hedonically negative input.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Reducing pica by teaching children to exchange inedible items for edibles.

Assessment results indicated that pica exhibited by two boys with developmental disabilitieswas not associated with environmental contingencies. Consistent with previous research, an oral stimulation function was hypothesized. A related intervention that taught participants to exchange inedible items for edibles was developed. Findings showed that the intervention resulted in reductions in pica for both participants. When the interventionwas introduced across settings, reductions in pica were observed for one participant. However, additional training with alternative pica itemswas necessary to produce reductions in pica across settings with the second participant. Reductions in pica were maintained as the intervention was systematically thinned.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Motion class dependency in observers' motor areas revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Human and animal data suggest that the mere observation of biological motion activates those premotor areas that also underlie the initiation of the same motion. However, data also indicate that the human premotor cortex (PM), in contrast to the monkey PM, responds not only to the observation of goal-directed (transitive) motion but also to intransitive motion. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to test this hypothesis directly. Participants were presented cycles of intransitive motion specified as belonging to the distal (fingers and mouth), proximal (knee, ankle, elbow, and wrist), or axial (trunk and shoulder) motion class. Attention to motion was behaviorally tested by a forced-choice task on motion acceleration and deceleration. Results revealed extended PM activation for each motion condition. However, direct contrasts showed that the most significant activations were elicited in ventrolateral PM by distal motion, in dorsolateral PM by proximal motion, and medial PM (supplementary motor area) by axial motion. Findings confirm observed intransitive motions to engage premotor areas along a gross-scaled somatotopy.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Maternal deprivation increases vulnerability to morphine dependence and disturbs the enkephalinergic system in adulthood.

Maternal deprivation can trigger long-lasting molecular and cellular modifications in brain functions and might facilitate the appearance of pathogenic behaviors. This study focuses on the vulnerability to develop morphine dependence in adult rats that were separated from their mother and littermates for 3 h per day for 14 d after birth and examines the adaptive changes in the enkephalinergic pathways. Place-preference conditioning was observed with 2 mg/kg morphine in deprived rats, whereas 5 mg/kg morphine was necessary to induce conditioning in nondeprived animals. A prolonged morphine conditioning was shown in deprived rats. A strong increase in oral morphine self-administration behavior and preference was observed in deprived rats. Only a very slight increase in preference for sucrose solution, a more ethological reinforcer known to interact with the opioid system, was shown in deprived rats. These results indicate that this postnatal environment change leads to a hypersensitivity to the reinforcing properties of morphine and to the development of morphine dependence. A significant decrease in preproenkephalin mRNA expression was observed in the nucleus accumbens and the caudate-putamen nucleus of deprived rats. The basal extracellular levels of the Met-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity in the nucleus accumbens were significantly lower in deprived rats when compared with nondeprived animals, whereas no change in mu-opioid receptor binding occurred. These results strongly support that maternal deprivation leads to a basal hypoactivity of the enkephalinergic system and hypersensitivity to morphine effects. Together, our results suggest that maternal deprivation in pups likely represents a risk factor for morphine dependence in adult rats.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2006

Children's selection of posterior restorative materials.

This study evaluated children's preference for posterior restorations. After viewing photographs of amalgam, composite, colored compomer and stainless steel crowns, 100 children 5-12 years-old responded to a satisfaction survey. The influence of age, gender and ethnicity was assessed and statistically analyzed Composite resins were preferred the most and amalgam the least. Caucasians mostly selected composites while African Americans stainless steel crowns. Early interest in colored compomers was seen in young, males and Caucasians.

Black or African American↗
PubMed2006

Dark, bitter-tasting nectar functions as a filter of flower visitors in a bird-pollinated plant.

Floral nectar is offered by plants to animals as a reward for pollination. While nectar is typically a clear liquid containing sugar and trace amounts of amino acids, colored nectar has evolved in several plant families. Here we explore the functional significance of the phenolic compounds that impart a dark brown color to the nectar of the South African succulent shrub Aloe vryheidensis. Flowers of this aloe are visited for their nectar by a suite of short-billed birds that are occasional nectarivores, including bulbuls, white-eyes, rock thrushes, and chats. Dark-capped Bulbuls were more likely to probe model flowers containing dark nectar than those containing clear nectar, suggesting a potential signaling function for dark nectar. However, the main effect of the phenolics appears to be to repel "unwanted" nectarivores that find their bitter taste unpalatable. Nectar-feeding honey bees and sunbirds are morphologically mismatched for pollinating A. vryheidensis flowers and strongly reject its nectar. However, the frugivorous and insectivorous birds that effectively pollinate this aloe are seemingly unaffected by the nectar's bitter taste. Thus the dark phenolic component of the nectar appears to function as a floral filter by attracting some animals visually and deterring others by its taste.

Aloe↗
PubMed1994

Preferred curricular activities and reduced problem behaviors in students with intellectual disabilities.

This research examined the relation between students' preferences for curricular activities and the occurrence of problem and desirable behaviors in 3 students with moderate intellectual disabilities. Activity preference was determined with a systematic assessment procedure. Subsequently, the influence of activity preference on student behavior was evaluated using a reversal design. Results showed that preferred activities were associated with reduced levels of problem behavior and increased levels of desirable behaviors. The findings of this investigation contribute to the applied literature on activity preference and suggest directions for future research in the areas of curriculum design, preference, and curricular modifications as a viable behavior-management strategy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

The effects of establishing operations on preference assessment outcomes.

Preference assessments were conducted for 4 individuals with developmental disabilities across conditions of (a) control, allowing equal access to all stimuli prior to the preference assessment; (b) deprivation, allowing no access to one stimulus for 48 hr prior to the assessment; and (c) satiation, allowing free access to one stimulus for 10 min immediately prior to the assessment. Deprivation resulted in increased preference, whereas satiation resulted in decreased preference compared to control conditions.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed2001

Evaluating the predictive validity of a single stimulus engagement preference assessment.

Most preference assessments require individuals to choose among two or more stimuli. More recently, the duration of engagement with items has been used as an index of preference. In the current study, the predictive validity of a single stimulus engagement (SSE) preference assessment was evaluated with 4 individuals. Stimuli were presented singly for a brief period while engagement with that stimulus was recorded. Although SSE preference rankings closely matched paired stimulus preference assessment rankings for only 2 of the 4 participants, relative preference rankings based on duration of engagement predicted relative reinforcer effectiveness for all participants in a subsequent concurrent-schedule reinforcer assessment. The SSE procedure took less time to administer than the paired stimulus procedure but produced less stable preference rankings across administrations. The SSE procedure may be appropriate for individuals who have difficulty selecting one stimulus from among two or more stimuli, and it may be well suited for evaluating activities that are difficult to present in a paired stimulus format.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Preference and resistance to change with constant- and variable-duration terminal links: independence of reinforcement rate and magnitude.

Pigeons responded in a three-component multiple concurrent-chains procedure in which the variable-interval reinforcement schedules were the same across components but magnitudes differed across components. The terminal links were arranged either as a variable delay followed by presentation of a reinforcer ("variable duration") or as a fixed period of access to the schedule during which a variable number of reinforcers could be earned ("constant duration"). Relative reinforcement rate was varied parametrically across both types of conditions. After baseline training in each condition, resistance to change of terminal-link responding was assessed by delivering food during the initial links according to a variable-time schedule. Both preference and resistance to change were more sensitive to reinforcement-rate differences in the constant-duration conditions. Sensitivities of preference and resistance to change to relative reinforcement rate did not change depending on relative reinforcement magnitude. Taken together, these results confirm and extend those of prior studies, and suggest that reinforcement rate and magnitude combine additively to determine preference and resistance to change. A single structural relation linking preference and resistance to change describes all the data from this and several related studies.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Effect of color in rearing and testing environment on the behavior of young domestic chicks.

Young domestic chicks were reared individually in compartments of four different colors and then tested either in a color-preference test with stationary objects (N equals 128) or with a moving stimulus (N equals 128). For each type of test we used four background colors in the test arena. The dependent variables included color preferences, following behavior and emotional responses of the young chicks. The results showed no significant effects of the color of the arena-background in either test situation. The color of the rearing compartment was a significant factor affecting color preferences in the test with stationary objects. In both test situations the colors red, and then green, were the most potent in affecting the color preferences and emotional responses exhibited by the chicks.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Functions of the medial frontal cortex in the processing of conflict and errors.

A principal function of the medial frontal cortex, in particular the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), is to monitor action. The error-related negativity (ERN, or N(E)), an event-related brain potential, reflects medial frontal action-monitoring processes. Specifically, the error-detection theory of the ERN states that the ERN reflects ACC processing that is directly related to detecting the error. This theory predicts that ERN and ACC activity should increase directly with the dissimilarity of the error from the correct response, with similarity defined with respect to the common movement features of the responses. In contrast, the conflict-detection theory claims that ACC and ERN activity represent the detection of response conflict. This theory predicts that the activity should increase directly with the similarity of the error and the correct response. To test these theories, we investigated the effects of response similarity and conflict on the ERN, using a task that involved hand and foot movements. ERN activity was largest under conditions of high response conflict, where the error was similar to the correct response. This finding favors the conflict-detection theory over the error-detection theory, although the ERN was not associated with posterror slowing, as predicted by proponents of both theories. Discrepancies between our results and those of past studies may stem from the use in previous studies of four-finger response tasks which are subject to unique physiological and biomechanical constraints. We conclude that the ERN reflects medial frontal activity involved in the detection or affective processing of response conflict.

Adult↗