Measuring self-control in a wild songbird using a spatial discounting task
Abstract Self-control allows animals to resist instant gratification and invest more time and/or energy in better outcomes. However, widespread temporal self-control tasks lack ecological validity for many species, and few studies have explored whether self-control can be measured in the wild. We us...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Animal Cognition |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01911-4 |
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| author | Ella McCallum Rachael C. Shaw |
| author_facet | Ella McCallum Rachael C. Shaw |
| author_sort | Ella McCallum |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Self-control allows animals to resist instant gratification and invest more time and/or energy in better outcomes. However, widespread temporal self-control tasks lack ecological validity for many species, and few studies have explored whether self-control can be measured in the wild. We used a spatial discounting task resembling natural foraging decisions to measure self-control in wild toutouwai (Petroica longipes), a songbird endemic to New Zealand. Birds chose between a near, low-quality food item and a high-quality food item further away. Toutouwai showed striking individual variation in their self-control abilities. Validation tests suggested that our task reliably measured self-control in a spatial foraging context. However, individual-level performance was confounded by food preferences and the satiation and/or learning effects associated with increasing trial number, limiting the applicability of this task as a measure of individual variation in self-control. Nonetheless, we found no correlation between an individual’s self-control and their inhibitory control measured using a detour task, suggesting that self-control is a distinct ability from the suppression of impulsive motor actions in toutouwai. This study demonstrates for the first time that a bird is capable of self-control in a spatial context and provides suggestions for how future researchers may robustly quantify individual differences in self-control in the wild. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2288633184b84a54a96bafad5f54f7ed |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1435-9456 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal Cognition |
| spelling | doaj-art-2288633184b84a54a96bafad5f54f7ed2025-01-26T12:43:42ZengSpringerAnimal Cognition1435-94562024-10-0127111610.1007/s10071-024-01911-4Measuring self-control in a wild songbird using a spatial discounting taskElla McCallum0Rachael C. Shaw1School of Biological Sciences, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of WellingtonSchool of Biological Sciences, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of WellingtonAbstract Self-control allows animals to resist instant gratification and invest more time and/or energy in better outcomes. However, widespread temporal self-control tasks lack ecological validity for many species, and few studies have explored whether self-control can be measured in the wild. We used a spatial discounting task resembling natural foraging decisions to measure self-control in wild toutouwai (Petroica longipes), a songbird endemic to New Zealand. Birds chose between a near, low-quality food item and a high-quality food item further away. Toutouwai showed striking individual variation in their self-control abilities. Validation tests suggested that our task reliably measured self-control in a spatial foraging context. However, individual-level performance was confounded by food preferences and the satiation and/or learning effects associated with increasing trial number, limiting the applicability of this task as a measure of individual variation in self-control. Nonetheless, we found no correlation between an individual’s self-control and their inhibitory control measured using a detour task, suggesting that self-control is a distinct ability from the suppression of impulsive motor actions in toutouwai. This study demonstrates for the first time that a bird is capable of self-control in a spatial context and provides suggestions for how future researchers may robustly quantify individual differences in self-control in the wild.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01911-4Self-controlSpatial discountingInhibitory controlDelay of gratificationSpatiotemporal choiceIntertemporal choice |
| spellingShingle | Ella McCallum Rachael C. Shaw Measuring self-control in a wild songbird using a spatial discounting task Animal Cognition Self-control Spatial discounting Inhibitory control Delay of gratification Spatiotemporal choice Intertemporal choice |
| title | Measuring self-control in a wild songbird using a spatial discounting task |
| title_full | Measuring self-control in a wild songbird using a spatial discounting task |
| title_fullStr | Measuring self-control in a wild songbird using a spatial discounting task |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measuring self-control in a wild songbird using a spatial discounting task |
| title_short | Measuring self-control in a wild songbird using a spatial discounting task |
| title_sort | measuring self control in a wild songbird using a spatial discounting task |
| topic | Self-control Spatial discounting Inhibitory control Delay of gratification Spatiotemporal choice Intertemporal choice |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01911-4 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ellamccallum measuringselfcontrolinawildsongbirdusingaspatialdiscountingtask AT rachaelcshaw measuringselfcontrolinawildsongbirdusingaspatialdiscountingtask |