Title |
Suboptimal choice by dogs: when less is better than more
|
---|---|
Published in |
Animal Cognition, March 2014
|
DOI | 10.1007/s10071-014-0735-2 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Kristina F. Pattison, Thomas R. Zentall |
Abstract |
The less is more effect, an example of an affect heuristic, can be shown in humans when they give greater value to a set of six baseball cards in perfect condition, than to the same set of six perfect cards together with three additional cards each with some value but in fair condition. A similar effect has been reported in monkeys which will eat both grapes and cucumbers but prefer grapes, when they prefer a single grape over a single grape plus a slice of cucumber. In the present experiment, we tested the less is more effect with a nonprimate but social species, dogs. We used dogs that would eat a slice of carrot and a slice of cheese but preferred the cheese. When we then gave them a choice between a slice of cheese and a slice of cheese plus a slice of carrot, most dogs preferred the single slice of cheese. Thus, the less is more effect appears to occur in several species. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 1 | 25% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 25% |
Unknown | 2 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 4 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Hungary | 1 | 2% |
Germany | 1 | 2% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 2% |
Romania | 1 | 2% |
United States | 1 | 2% |
Unknown | 50 | 91% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 9 | 16% |
Researcher | 8 | 15% |
Student > Bachelor | 4 | 7% |
Other | 4 | 7% |
Student > Master | 4 | 7% |
Other | 9 | 16% |
Unknown | 17 | 31% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 13 | 24% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 12 | 22% |
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine | 3 | 5% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 3 | 5% |
Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 2 | 4% |
Other | 3 | 5% |
Unknown | 19 | 35% |