| Title |
“Play it Again”: a new method for testing metacognition in animals
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Animal Cognition, September 2011
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s10071-011-0445-y |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Allison L. Foote, Jonathon D. Crystal |
| Abstract |
Putative metacognition data in animals may be explained by non-metacognition models (e.g., stimulus generalization). The primary objective of the present study was to develop a new method for testing metacognition in animals that may yield data that can be explained by metacognition but not by non-metacognition models. Next, we used the new method with rats. Rats were first presented with a brief noise duration which they would subsequently classify as short or long. Rats were sometimes forced to take an immediate duration test, forced to repeat the same duration, or had the choice to take the test or repeat the duration. Metacognition, but not an alternative non-metacognition model, predicts that accuracy on difficult durations is higher when subjects are forced to repeat the stimulus compared to trials in which the subject chose to repeat the stimulus, a pattern observed in our data. Simulation of a non-metacognition model suggests that this part of the data from rats is consistent with metacognition, but other aspects of the data are not consistent with metacognition. The current results call into question previous findings suggesting that rats have metacognitive abilities. Although a mixed pattern of data does not support metacognition in rats, we believe the introduction of the method may be valuable for testing with other species to help evaluate the comparative case for metacognition. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 93 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 1 | 1% |
| Chile | 1 | 1% |
| Australia | 1 | 1% |
| Canada | 1 | 1% |
| Japan | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 88 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 21 | 23% |
| Student > Master | 20 | 22% |
| Researcher | 11 | 12% |
| Student > Bachelor | 8 | 9% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 5 | 5% |
| Other | 16 | 17% |
| Unknown | 12 | 13% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 29 | 31% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 23 | 25% |
| Neuroscience | 10 | 11% |
| Social Sciences | 5 | 5% |
| Philosophy | 2 | 2% |
| Other | 9 | 10% |
| Unknown | 15 | 16% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 9. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 02 June 2014.
All research outputs
#3,267,491
of 22,756,196 outputs
Outputs from Animal Cognition
#605
of 1,444 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#17,285
of 126,092 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Animal Cognition
#4
of 10 outputs
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