An Investigation into the Cognition Behind Spontaneous String Pulling in New Caledonian Crows

The ability of some bird species to pull up meat hung on a string is a famous example of spontaneous animal problem solving. The “insight” hypothesis claims that this complex behaviour is based on cognitive abilities such as mental scenario building and imagination. An operant conditioning account, in contrast, would claim that this spontaneity is due to each action in string pulling being reinforced by the meat moving closer and remaining closer to the bird on the perch. We presented experienced and naïve New Caledonian crows with a novel, visually restricted string-pulling problem that reduced the quality of visual feedback during string pulling. Experienced crows solved this problem with reduced efficiency and increased errors compared to their performance in standard string pulling. Naïve crows either failed or solved the problem by trial and error learning. However, when visual feedback was available via a mirror mounted next to the apparatus, two naïve crows were able to perform at the same level as the experienced group. Our results raise the possibility that spontaneous string pulling in New Caledonian crows may not be based on insight but on operant conditioning mediated by a perceptual-motor feedback cycle

Insightful Problem Solving in an Asian Elephant

The “aha” moment or the sudden arrival of the solution to a problem is a common human experience. Spontaneous problem solving without evident trial and error behavior in humans and other animals has been referred to as insight. Surprisingly, elephants, thought to be highly intelligent, have failed to exhibit insightful problem solving in previous cognitive studies. We tested whether three Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) would use sticks or other objects to obtain food items placed out-of-reach and overhead. Without prior trial and error behavior, a 7-year-old male Asian elephant showed spontaneous problem solving by moving a large plastic cube, on which he then stood, to acquire the food. In further testing he showed behavioral flexibility, using this technique to reach other items and retrieving the cube from various locations to use as a tool to acquire food. In the cube's absence, he generalized this tool utilization technique to other objects and, when given smaller objects, stacked them in an attempt to reach the food. The elephant's overall behavior was consistent with the definition of insightful problem solving. Previous failures to demonstrate this ability in elephants may have resulted not from a lack of cognitive ability but from the presentation of tasks requiring trunk-held sticks as potential tools, thereby interfering with the trunk's use as a sensory organ to locate the targeted food

Evaluation of therapeutic alternatives to imprisonment for drug-dependent offenders. Findings of a comparative European multi-country study

A multi-country, multi-site comparative research study has documented the feasibility of recruiting drug-dependent individuals receiving treatment as an alternative to imprisonment (‘quasi-compulsory’ treatment, in the setting of an experimental group), while comparing them with those receiving treatment in the same therapeutic institutions, on a voluntary basis (control group). The study combined qualitative and quantitative methods in describing the evolution and outcome of each case after 6, 12 and 18 months in treatment. 845 probands were recruited from 9 sites in 5 countries (Austria, Germany, Italy, UK, Switzerland), 429 in the experimental and 416 in the comparison group. Data were collected using a standardized instrument set and following a joint protocol that allowed for the testing of a number of pre-established hypotheses. Significant reductions in drug use and delinquent behaviour, together with improvements in social integration and health, were found in both groups. Higher rates of perceived external pressure to stay in treatment in the experimental group did not affect motivation of these patients as regards improvement and retention in the study. It can be concluded that the availability of treatment alternatives to imprisonment for drug dependence are a valuable policy option, under various different conditions, but that this option is open to further improvement

Mechanisms Underlying String-Pulling Behaviour in Green-Winged Macaw

The string-pulling test is a classic test of physical cognition which is thought to examine an animal’s understanding of means-end comprehension, but may also result from trial and error learning. Here, we presented Green-winged macaws (Ara chloroptera) with a standard pull-up, and an alternative, pull-down, string pulling test to better understand the processes involved. Birds were divided into two groups: the experimental group were presented with the classic pull-up test and, upon completion, with the pull-down test, while the control group were only presented with the pull-down test. Six experimental birds solved the pull-up test, although none successfully completed the pull-down test; however, birds from the experimental group made significantly more pull-down actions than those from the control group. Together with previous findings on string-pulling behaviour in green-winged macaws, the results from the present study suggest that string-pulling behaviour in this species does not involve means-end understanding

The Relationship between Legal Status, Perceived Pressure and Motivation in Treatment for Drug Dependence: Results from a European Study of Quasi-Compulsory Treatment

This paper reports on intake data from QCT Europe, a study of quasi-compulsory treatment for drug dependent offenders. It explores the link between formal legal coercion, perceived pressure to be in treatment and motivation amongst a sample of 845 people who entered treatment for drug dependence in 5 European countries, half of them in quasi-compulsory treatment and half ‘voluntarily’. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, it suggests that those who enter treatment under QCT do perceive greater pressure to be in treatment, but that this does not necessarily lead to higher or lower motivation than ‘volunteers’. Many drug dependent offenders value QCT as an opportunity to get treatment. Motivation is mutable and can be developed or diminished by the quality of support and services offered to drug dependent offenders