LaurenGuillette.bsky.social

Who uses Farmers’ Almanacs? + Zebra finch home design Have climate change and weather apps made Farmers' Almanacs obsolete? Plus, home decorating tips from zebra finches.

Listen to me on NPR's Science Friday bit.ly/40uGG2M (8 min 19 sec in)

@julself.bsky.social liaLSelf was on The Early Edition AM 1150 in Kelowna for ‘Bianca’s Bizarre’ (04 Mar) bit.ly/4s96wW1

& @dtcooper The Last Show bit.ly/4bbFE1C

@psychualberta.bsky.social

New article by me and @julself.bsky.social and yes, we got and @edmontonoilers.bsky.social reference in there 🏒

@psychualberta.bsky.social @ualbertapress.bsky.social @ualberta.bsky.social

New article by me and @julself.bsky.social and yes, we got and @edmontonoilers.bsky.social reference in there 🏒

@psychualberta.bsky.social @ualbertapress.bsky.social @ualberta.bsky.social

Conformity and individual preference shape nest material use in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) Culture, learned behaviours shared within a group, is found in diverse species and critically impacts fitness. Culture arises through social learning and persists when newcomers adopt group norms via…

A new study by @julself.bsky.social and colleagues reports that male zebra finches balance social conformity and individual preference when selecting nest materials.

These Finches Have A Favorite Color, And Nothing Their Friends Can Say Will Change Their Minds Those with a higher affinity for one color were less likely to change their mind when influenced by their peers.

These Finches Have A Favorite Color, And Nothing Their Friends Can Say Will Change Their Minds www.iflscience.com/these-finche...

Little outreach about our recent paper

@julself.bsky.social @ba-whittaker.bsky.social @ualbertapress.bsky.social @psychualberta.bsky.social

Happy to spend time with these two humans

Conformity and individual preference shape nest material use in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) Culture, learned behaviours shared within a group, is found in diverse species and critically impacts fitness. Culture arises through social learning and persists when newcomers adopt group norms via conformity and conformist transmission. We examined conformity and conformist transmission in a novel context: avian nest building, testing whether male zebra finches, the primary nest builders in this species, forgo their preferred nest material colour in favour of the majority-demonstrated alternative, and whether the likelihood of switching was disproportionate relative to majority size. First, we determined each male’s preferred colour and preference strength. Then, each male, paired with a female, was introduced into a population containing four conspecific pairs, each incubating eggs in a nest. Populations varied in the number of nests (0–4) built using the male’s non-preferred colour material. After three days, males were given both material colours for nest construction. Males with weaker preferences were more likely to conform, using the majority-demonstrated, non-preferred colour, whereas males with stronger preferences resisted social influence. Although males often acquired social information – evidenced by their initial interactions with the majority-demonstrated material – this did not consistently translate into conformist nest-building behaviour. These findings show socially influenced nest-building and individual variation in susceptibility to social information.

New ACRG open-access paper by first-author (and recent MSc recipient) Julia Self : Conformity and individual preference shape nest material use in zebra finches https://bit.ly/460cQpT

Stefan Stanescu Ben Whittaker PsychUAlberta

Book recomendation 🪶The Feather Detective by Chris Sweeney. Brilliant story of Roxie Laybourne. Interview here (haven’t listened yet): https://ab.co/4ruOPQc Women in STEM ✨

Dynamic strategic social learning in nest-building zebra finches and its generalizability Abstract. Animals often balance asocial and social information strategically, adjusting when and from whom they copy based on context. Yet the cognition dr

New paper with data collected @univofstandrews.bsky.social &
@psychualberta.bsky.social Models run @MPI_EVA_Leipzig Congrats to first-author @alexisjbreen.bsky.social on making this project work!

bit.ly/4j2s7eV

@royalsocietypublishing.org

@rmcelreath.bsky.social

Lauren giving a talk at the International Society for Comparative Psychology conference hosted at the Konrad Lorenz Universidad in Bogotá 🇨🇴

@psychualberta.bsky.social

Extremely thoughtful and though-provoking panel today #ISCP_2025 about ‘cognition’

I used this eSIM when I travelled to India and Thailand in September and I am using again for my upcoming trip to Colombia, here is a coupon code: Get CAD $4.50 off your first eSIM package from Airalo. Use code LAUREN9624 when you sign up or check out. airalo.go.link/fMd21

Public talk tomorrow (Friday)!

Join us for the next Queer Coffee Hour this Thursday (Nov 20th 11:00-12:00 MST) in BS P328. Queer Coffee provides a space for 2SLGBTQIA+ members at @ualberta.bsky.social. Coffee and cups are provided!

Fear of the flying: new study looks at ‘neophobia’ in birds bit.ly/3LU5IUF Folio write up about our recent collaborative paper

PLoS Biology article: bit.ly/4o4Sdir

#CompCogPapers

@compcogsoc.bsky.social @ualberta.bsky.social @psychualberta.bsky.social

Visual perception of rotated chromatic and achromatic 3D stimuli in goldfish (Carassius auratus) Learning & Behavior - The ability to visually recognize objects despite differences in orientation would be advantageous for fish because they see objects from many viewpoints as they navigate...

New paper #psynomLB 'Visual perception of rotated chromatic and achromatic 3D stimuli in goldfish (Carassius auratus)' https://bit.ly/3LE3M2z by DeLong et al.

#Objectconstancy #Objectdiscrimination #Visualperception

@psychonomicsociety.bsky.social @compcogsoc.bsky.social @urochester.bsky.social

Please message me if you would like to meet with Dr. Gazes

Discrimination of invisible spatial structures by pigeons Learning & Behavior - The study of animal cognition has hosted a long debate about the nature of mental representation. Specifically, whether spatial (map-like) or associative (node-like)...

New paper #psynomLB 'Discrimination of invisible spatial structures by pigeons' https://bit.ly/4nYlJqa by Cook & Cook

#Associativelearning #Patternrecognition #Acquisition #Spatiallearning

@psychonomicsociety.bsky.social @compcogsoc.bsky.social

Willingness to work for sucrose: Impact of schedules, reinforcer alternatives, homeostatic value, and individual differences in male mice Learning & Behavior - Motivated behavior is characterized by a high degree of behavioral activation and effort. Preclinical models of operant effort-based decision-making are useful for...

New paper in #psynomLB 'Willingness to work for sucrose: Impact of schedules, reinforcer alternatives, homeostatic value, and individual differences in male mice' https://bit.ly/4pdA3fA by Arias-Sandoval et al.

@psychonomicsociety.bsky.social

Parental investment and body temperature explain encephalization in vertebrates | PNAS The systematic variation in relative brain size among vertebrate classes remains poorly understood. Here, based on the expensive brain hypothesis, ...

Parental investment and body temperature explain encephalization in vertebrates | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

New paper from our team: No Sex-Differences in Learning Trap-Gap Problems in Zebra Finches #OA bit.ly/43pY9eB in Ecology and Evolution #nest #AnimalCogniton 🧪

@psychualberta.bsky.social

@ba-whittaker.bsky.social

@compcogsoc.bsky.social

@julself.bsky.social

@ualberta.bsky.social

Evaluating a four-button computerized gaming system for cognitive engagement in dogs Learning & Behavior - Cognitive enrichment is essential for improving the welfare of animals in kennels, shelters, and laboratory environments. Whereas touchscreens have been used to engage...

New #paper in #psynomLB Evaluating a four-button computerized gaming system for cognitive engagement in dogs https://bit.ly/4qEgZZr

#CanineCognition #OperantLearning #videogame

Dog playing computerized game: https://bit.ly/4hIzN5z

@compcogsoc.bsky.social @psychonomicsociety.bsky.social

7 basic science discoveries that changed the world Nature - Ozempic, MRI machines and flat screen televisions all emerged out of fundamental research decades earlier — the very types of study being slashed by the US government.

7 basic science discoveries that changed the world

Sex differences in giant panda paw preferences during bamboo feeding Learning & Behavior - We examined giant panda paw use while feeding on bamboo to determine if this species exhibits manual lateralization. Video recordings of 21 captive giant pandas (15...

New #paper in #psynomLB Sex differences in giant panda paw preferences during bamboo feeding https://bit.ly/47pnzv6 by Snyder et al.

@zooatlanta.bsky.social @sandiegozoo.bsky.social @compcogsoc.bsky.social

#handedness #lateralization #bear

Are mice a bad model for successive negative contrast? Learning & Behavior - Successive negative contrast (SNC) is a procedure in which animals trained with a large reward consume less of a subsequent smaller reward than animals always trained with...

New paper #psynomLB 'Are mice a bad model for successive negative contrast?' http://bit.ly/3WcKUK6 by Daniel

#IncentiveContrast #RewardDownshift #FrustrationEffect #NegativeContrast

@psychonomicsociety.bsky.social

Reversal learning and aging: Exploring simple discrimination learning, learning-set, and functional classes Learning & Behavior - Cognitive (or behavioral) flexibility is considered an executive function characterized by patterns of behavioral adjustment in response to changes in environmental...

New paper #psynomLB 'Reversal learning and aging: Exploring simple discrimination learning, learning-set, and functional classes' http://bit.ly/3J9wk2Y by Manfredo et al.

#CognitiveFlexibility #ReversalLearning #Learning-set

@psychonomicsociety.bsky.social

Anticipation of cyclical resource availability in the red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria): Implications for seed dispersal Learning & Behavior - Many plant populations are dependent on animal-mediated seed dispersal; however, in the study of mutualistic processes, animals are generally thought of as unselective...

New paper #psynomLB 'Anticipation of cyclical resource availability in the red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria): Implications for seed dispersal' http://bit.ly/4odtHg9 by Soldati et al.

#Anticipation #Timing #Foraging #Reptile

@psychonomicsociety.bsky.social

Mechanisms of socially facilitated feeding in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Learning & Behavior - The social facilitation of feeding, where individuals increase their feeding behavior in the presence of conspecifics, is widely documented, but the underlying mechanisms...

New paper in #psynomLB 'Mechanisms of socially facilitated feeding in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)' http://bit.ly/4n87G0y by Sekulovski et al.

#Socialfacilitation #Feedingbehavior #Sex differences
@psychonomicsociety.bsky.social

Spatial representation of magnitude in rhesus macaques: Investigating SNARC effects in quantity and size dimensions Learning & Behavior - The Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect reflects an association of magnitude with space. For example, humans typically map small numbers to one...

'Spatial representation of magnitude in rhesus macaques: Investigating SNARC effects in quantity and size dimensions' http://bit.ly/3W46Cjs by Jackson et al.

#numericalprocessing #comparativecognition

#psynomLB @psychonomicsociety.bsky.social