New Caledonian Crows Behave Optimistically after Using Tools

Are complex, species-specific behaviors in animals reinforced by material reward alone or do they also induce positive emotions? Many adaptive human behaviors are intrinsically motivated: they not only improve our material outcomes, but improve our affect as well [1-8]. Work to date on animal optimism, as an indicator of positive affect, has generally focused on how animals react to change in their circumstances, such as when their environment is enriched [9-14] or they are manipulated by humans [15-23], rather than whether complex actions improve emotional state. Here, we show that wild New Caledonian crows are optimistic after tool use, a complex, species-specific behavior. We further demonstrate that this finding cannot be explained by the crows needing to put more effort into gaining food. Our findings therefore raise the possibility that intrinsic motivation (enjoyment) may be a fundamental proximate cause in the evolution of tool use and other complex behaviors. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

[1]  A. Boissy,et al.  Measuring judgement bias and emotional reactivity in sheep following long-term exposure to unpredictable and aversive events , 2011, Physiology & Behavior.

[2]  Robert A Emmons,et al.  Goal orientation and emotional well-being: Linking goals and affect through the self. , 1996 .

[3]  E. Deci,et al.  Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. , 2000, Contemporary educational psychology.

[4]  R. D. Charms.  Personal Causation: The Internal Affective Determinants of Behavior , 1983 .

[5]  M. Mendl,et al.  Dogs showing separation-related behaviour exhibit a ‘pessimistic’ cognitive bias , 2010, Current Biology.

[6]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  Goal striving, need satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: the self-concordance model. , 1999, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[7]  T. Furuichi,et al.  Chimpanzees and bonobos differ in intrinsic motivation for tool use , 2015, Scientific Reports.

[8]  Brett Smith,et al.  The Effects of Surfing and the Natural Environment on the Well-Being of Combat Veterans , 2015, Qualitative health research.

[9]  M. Mendl,et al.  An integrative and functional framework for the study of animal emotion and mood , 2010, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[10]  M. Bateson,et al.  Do horses with poor welfare show ‘pessimistic’ cognitive biases? , 2017, The Science of Nature.

[11]  M. Mendl,et al.  Using judgement bias to measure positive affective state in dogs , 2011 .

[12]  Does Trapping Influence Decision-Making under Ambiguity in White-Lipped Peccary (Tayassu pecari)? , 2015, PloS one.

[13]  S. H. Richter,et al.  A glass full of optimism: Enrichment effects on cognitive bias in a rat model of depression , 2012, Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience.

[14]  C. Duranton,et al.  Let me sniff! Nosework induces positive judgment bias in pet dogs , 2019, Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

[15]  M. Mendl,et al.  A spatial judgement task to determine background emotional state in laboratory rats, Rattus norvegicus , 2008, Animal Behaviour.

[16]  Kate Wong.  The age of empathy: nature's lessons for a kinder society. , 2009 .

[17]  K. Berridge,et al.  Parsing reward , 2003, Trends in Neurosciences.

[18]  M. Bateson,et al.  Development of a cognitive bias methodology for measuring low mood in chimpanzees , 2015, PeerJ.

[19]  M. Bateson,et al.  Performance on a categorisation task suggests that removal of environmental enrichment induces ‘pessimism’ in captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) , 2007, Animal Welfare.

[20]  M. Bateson,et al.  Agitated Honeybees Exhibit Pessimistic Cognitive Biases , 2011, Current Biology.

[21]  M. Mendl,et al.  State-dependent judgement bias in Drosophila: evidence for evolutionarily primitive affective processes , 2018, Biology Letters.

[22]  M. Bateson,et al.  Cognitive bias in the chick anxiety–depression model , 2011, Brain Research.

[23]  N. Brydges,et al.  Environmental enrichment induces optimistic cognitive bias in rats , 2011, Animal Behaviour.

[24]  E. Fuchs,et al.  Chronic psychosocial stress makes rats more ‘pessimistic’ in the ambiguous-cue interpretation paradigm , 2013, Behavioural Brain Research.

[25]  atherine Douglasa,et al.  nvironmental enrichment induces optimistic cognitive biases in pigs , 2012 .

[26]  D. Weary,et al.  Separation from the Dam Causes Negative Judgement Bias in Dairy Calves , 2014, PloS one.

[27]  R. Cialdini,et al.  Altruism as hedonism: a social development perspective on the relationship of negative mood state and helping. , 1976, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[28]  Richard M A Parker,et al.  Cognitive bias as an indicator of animal emotion and welfare: Emerging evidence and underlying mechanisms , 2009 .

[29]  S. Lyubomirsky,et al.  Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change , 2005 .

[30]  C. Lundqvist.  Well-being in competitive sports—The feel-good factor? A review of conceptual considerations of well-being , 2011 .

[31]  S. Schapiro,et al.  Guidelines for developing and managing an environmental enrichment program for nonhuman primates. , 1991, Laboratory animal science.

[32]  D. Weary,et al.  Pain and Pessimism: Dairy Calves Exhibit Negative Judgement Bias following Hot-Iron Disbudding , 2013, PloS one.

[33]  Brett Smith,et al.  The impact of sport and physical activity on the well-being of combat veterans: A systematic review , 2014 .

[34]  R. W. White.  Motivation reconsidered: the concept of competence. , 1959, Psychological review.

[35]  T. Bugnyar,et al.  Negative emotional contagion and cognitive bias in common ravens (Corvus corax) , 2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[36]  Pierre-Yves Oudeyer,et al.  What is Intrinsic Motivation? A Typology of Computational Approaches , 2007, Frontiers Neurorobotics.

[37]  C. Carere,et al.  Individual differences in exploratory activity relate to cognitive judgement bias in carpenter ants , 2017, Behavioural Processes.

[38]  Robert A Emmons.  Personal strivings: An approach to personality and subjective well-being. , 1986 .

[39]  A. Kacelnik,et al.  On the evolutionary and ontogenetic origins of tool-oriented behaviour in New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides). , 2011, Biological journal of the Linnean Society. Linnean Society of London.

[40]  S. Reese,et al.  Pasturing in herds after housing in horseboxes induces a positive cognitive bias in horses , 2016 .

[41]  J. Balcombe.  Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of Feeling Good , 2006 .

[42]  Jeffrey N. Rouder,et al.  Bayesian inference for psychology. Part I: Theoretical advantages and practical ramifications , 2017, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

[43]  O. Burman,et al.  Dogs with separation-related problems show a “less pessimistic” cognitive bias during treatment with fluoxetine (Reconcile™) and a behaviour modification plan , 2015, BMC Veterinary Research.

[44]  T. D'zurilla,et al.  Problem-solving therapy for depression: a meta-analysis. , 2009, Clinical psychology review.

[45]  Edward L. Deci,et al.  Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior , 1975, Perspectives in Social Psychology.

[46]  P. Popik,et al.  Laughing Rats Are Optimistic , 2012, PloS one.

[47]  M. Mendl,et al.  Measuring emotional processes in animals: the utility of a cognitive approach , 2005, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

[48]  Stephen Roberts,et al.  Pigeons combine compass and landmark guidance in familiar route navigation , 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[49]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  Achieving Sustainable Gains in Happiness: Change Your Actions, not Your Circumstances* , 2006 .

[50]  G. Hunt.  Social and Spatial Reintegration Success of New Caledonian Crows (Corvus moneduloides) Released after Aviary Confinement , 2016 .

[51]  M. Eysenck,et al.  Bias in interpretation of ambiguous sentences related to threat in anxiety. , 1991, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[52]  S. Brajon,et al.  The Way Humans Behave Modulates the Emotional State of Piglets , 2015, PloS one.

[53]  M. Mendl,et al.  Animal behaviour: Cognitive bias and affective state , 2004, Nature.

[54]  Melissa Bateson,et al.  Larger, enriched cages are associated with 'optimistic' response biases in captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) , 2008 .

[55]  K. Berridge,et al.  Affective neuroscience of pleasure: reward in humans and animals , 2008, Psychopharmacology.