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Hint-seeking behaviour of western scrub-jays in a metacognition task

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Abstract

Metacognitive processes during memory retrieval can be tested by examining whether or not animals can assess their knowledge state when they are faced with a memory test. In a typical foraging task, food is hidden in one of the multiple tubes and the subjects are given an opportunity to check the contents of the tubes before choosing the one that they thought contained food. Following the findings from our previous study that western scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) can make prospective metacognition judgements, this study tested the scrub-jays’ concurrent metacognition judgements. In a series of experiments, uncertainty about the food location was induced in three ways: by making the baiting process visibly unavailable, by inserting a delay between the baiting and food retrieval, and by moving the location of the bait. The jays looked into the tubes more often during the conditions that were consistent with high uncertainty. In addition, their looking behaviour was associated not with the sight of food but with information about the location of the food. These findings suggest that the jays can differentiate the states of knowing and not knowing about certain information and take appropriate action to complement their missing knowledge.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Paul Heavens, Charmaine Donovan, and the staff of the Madingley Sub-department of Animal Behaviour for care of the birds, Rosie Bryce for her help with video analyses, and the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript. This study formed part of A.W.’s Ph.D., which was supported by an ORS award and the Cambridge Overseas Trust, and we thank the examiners, Lisa Saksida and Selvino de Kort, for their insightful advices. The research was funded by a grant from BBSRC, and maintenance of the birds by the University of Cambridge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan

    Arii Watanabe

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK

    Nicola S. Clayton

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  1. Arii Watanabe
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  2. Nicola S. Clayton
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Correspondence to Arii Watanabe.

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Watanabe, A., Clayton, N.S. Hint-seeking behaviour of western scrub-jays in a metacognition task. Anim Cogn 19, 53–64 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0912-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0912-y

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