Children’s confidence in their own knowledge and their understanding of other’s intentions may influence their willingness to learn novel information from others. Two studies investigated whether 24-month-old children take into account these different sources of information when learning novel labels. In Study 1, children interacted with a speaker who referred to familiar objects in either a knowledgeable (e.g., the speaker confidently stated, “I know what that is”) or an ignorant manner (e.g., the speaker doubtfully stated, “I don’t know what that is.”). The previously knowledgeable or ignorant speaker then provided a novel label for either a novel or a familiar object. Children were less willing to apply a novel label to a familiar object from a speaker who previously had expressed ignorance than one who previously had expressed confidence in his/her knowledge of object labels. In contrast, when objects were novel, children were equally willing to learn a novel label regardless of the level of knowledge portrayed by the speaker. In Study 2, children interacted with a speaker who provided either accurate or inaccurate labels for familiar objects in a manner that expressed uncertainty about the information being offered (e.g., “I think that’s a …”). Children’s willingness to accept second labels for familiar objects was examined. Children were equally likely to learn the novel label for a familiar object from the accurate and the inaccurate speaker. In contrast to past findings which present differences in willingness to learn from accurate and inaccurate speakers, children in this study may have taken into account the speaker’s lack of confidence when deciding whether to accept or reject the novel information being provided. Young children are not naïve observers accepting novel label information from any source. They attend to cues about the speaker’s level of knowledge by 24 months. They also are capable of comparing their knowledge with the information being presented by an adult speaker and deciding whether to rely on their own knowledge or accept the information being provided. Both reliability cues from the speaker and children’s prior knowledge influence their willingness to learn novel information. / text

Syftet med detta arbete var att undersöka ”environmental storytelling” och dess betydelse i att bygga ut spelmiljöer. Begreppet och tankarna på ”environmental storytelling” har baserats på Don Carson och Henry Jenkins tankar kring ämnet. Utöver dessa källor användes även områdena kring ”immersion” och ”affordence”. Till undersökningen producerades en artefakt bestående av tre utrenderade 3D-miljöer, som sedan användes i kvalitativa intervjuer. Intervjuerna bestod av frågor kring hur informanterna uppfattade bilderna. Resultatet av intervjuerna visade att de narrativa ledtrådarna fick störst fokus över de mekaniska ledtrådarna. Det visades även att flera av ledtrådarna kunde byta roll, narrativa kunde fungera som mekaniska respektive mekaniska kunde fungera som narrativa. Det framgick att ”environmental storytelling” ger ett ytterligare djup till spelaren från spelmiljöerna. För ett framtida arbete skulle ytterligare fördjupning inom olika miljöer förekomma, med större fokus på hur människor uppfattar berättelser genom tecken och objekt, samt fler infallsvinklar från andra livserfarenheter.

Eyes are an ideal tool for investigating social attention, as their physiological composition with the iris and pupil highly-distinguishable against the white sclera, combined with our foveated vision, mean that gaze cues are both a means of understanding where attention is being allocated and a method for non-verbal communication. Previous attention research using gaze cues has focused on Posner-type paradigms that have supported a model of reflexive orienting of attention in response to gaze cues. However, the ecological validity of this type of paradigm has been called into question given more recent real world research, which has produced findings that cannot be explained by laboratory-based Posner-type paradigms. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to develop and test a novel, more ecologically-valid paradigm that could investigate observers’ responses to gaze cues in a realistic, but controlled, manner. Based on past research, an initial goal of this research was to develop an early iteration of a realistic visual search paradigm in which a single non-predictive gaze cue is presented. This was built on in later chapters by adding manipulations of task instruction. These chapters presented some evidence that supported a reflexive orienting model of gaze, with clear facilitation to performance as a result of person presence. The second goal of this research was to explore observers’ responses when presented with the same task and search arrays, but with the inclusion of a second gaze cue. This is some of the first research to address multiple gaze cues within a realistic visual search paradigm. These chapters showed multiple gaze cues result in quite considerably different observer eye movement behaviour. Benefits of people presence were stronger and far more congruency effects were apparent. There were also clear effects of instruction, with the suggestion that gaze cues provided may be helpful to the task resulting in significantly greater proportions of overt gaze-seeking than in other instruction conditions. The introduction of multiple gaze cues created a new gaze cue condition – the conflicting condition in which each person cued separate spatial areas within the scene. In order to explore the effects of gaze cue sender reliability on observers’ eye movements, a third version of the study was tested where the gaze cues presented were spatially informative, cuing the target in 70% of trials. Results showed similar benefits of people presence to the previous multiple-cue chapters, but there were minimal reliability effects. Methodological adaptations were suggested based on previous research that has explored reliability effects that may more successfully elicit reliability effects in future research. The final chapter presents a summary of the findings of the research contained within this thesis. The results showed that in a more complex and realistic visual search task employing a single gaze cue, results are somewhat consistent with the reflexive orienting model of gaze due to the clear facilitation as a result of person presence and the lack of instruction effects. The findings presented also demonstrate that once multiple gaze cues are introduced, the reflexive orienting model cannot account for observers’ gaze behaviour. Instead, findings are more consistent with recent real world research. This would suggest that a new model of gaze processing is required when more than one gaze cue is presented, and the final chapter offers some suggestions of what this new model would need to take into account. It is suggested that subsequent research using this novel paradigm should explore the use of dynamic cues and the effects on eye movement behaviour in special populations, and that the research presented in this thesis provides a solid foundation upon which these new directions for research can be built.

Throughout their lives, prey organisms must balance the tradeoff between fitness-related activities and the risk of predation. To successfully mediate such tradeoffs, prey must have an accurate method to gauge current predation risk. For many aquatic organisms, the use of chemosensory information has been shown to be a ubiquitous and useful tool in mediating predation risk. The chemical cues to which aquatic organisms respond include the odour of known predators and the odour of a damaged conspecific or known or closely related heterospecific. In fishes, the response to damage-released cues from conspecifics or closely related heterospecifics has been shown to be innate, while the response to distantly related unknown heterospecific cues are likely learned. In a series of laboratory and field studies I examined the role of learning in the ability of fathead minnows to respond to damage-released cues of brook stickleback as an indication of predation risk. My results indicate that minnows from a population without stickleback do not recognize stickleback cues as dangerous. However, following the introduction of stickleback, minnows learn to recognize stickleback cues as dangerous. Further study indicated a low ratio of stickleback to minnows in a given population will decrease the likelihood of learning when compared with a similar sized population containing a higher ratio of stickleback to minnows. I also demonstrated that an increase in habitat complexity decreases the ability of minnows to learn to recognize stickleback cues. Studies have further demonstrated that in the face of predation (as indicated by chemical cues from minnows and stickleback) minnows will decrease their antipredator response when in the presence of a fish shoal, especially a shoal of conspecifics. Finally, an examination of the effects of a minnows length, body condition and breeding status indicate that morphological parameters can play a significant role in the intensity of response to heterospecific and conspecific damage-released cues. Previous works have demonstrated that behavioural responses to heterospecific damage-released cues increase the probability of the receiver surviving a predation event. This has important implications for predator/prey interactions and consequently factors affecting the learning and use of such cues deserve increasing attention from ecologists.

Throughout their lives, prey organisms must balance the tradeoff between fitness-related activities and the risk of predation. To successfully mediate such tradeoffs, prey must have an accurate method to gauge current predation risk. For many aquatic organisms, the use of chemosensory information has been shown to be a ubiquitous and useful tool in mediating predation risk. The chemical cues to which aquatic organisms respond include the odour of known predators and the odour of a damaged conspecific or known or closely related heterospecific. In fishes, the response to damage-released cues from conspecifics or closely related heterospecifics has been shown to be innate, while the response to distantly related unknown heterospecific cues are likely learned. In a series of laboratory and field studies I examined the role of learning in the ability of fathead minnows to respond to damage-released cues of brook stickleback as an indication of predation risk. My results indicate that minnows from a population without stickleback do not recognize stickleback cues as dangerous. However, following the introduction of stickleback, minnows learn to recognize stickleback cues as dangerous. Further study indicated a low ratio of stickleback to minnows in a given population will decrease the likelihood of learning when compared with a similar sized population containing a higher ratio of stickleback to minnows. I also demonstrated that an increase in habitat complexity decreases the ability of minnows to learn to recognize stickleback cues. Studies have further demonstrated that in the face of predation (as indicated by chemical cues from minnows and stickleback) minnows will decrease their antipredator response when in the presence of a fish shoal, especially a shoal of conspecifics. Finally, an examination of the effects of a minnows length, body condition and breeding status indicate that morphological parameters can play a significant role in the intensity of response to heterospecific and conspecific damage-released cues. Previous works have demonstrated that behavioural responses to heterospecific damage-released cues increase the probability of the receiver surviving a predation event. This has important implications for predator/prey interactions and consequently factors affecting the learning and use of such cues deserve increasing attention from ecologists.

By exploring determinants of perceived wine quality and seeking possibilities to overcome Chinese wines’ negative COO effect, this paper aims to give insights to current research field about perceived quality and Country of Origin (COO) effect. Adopting an abductive approach, the researchers conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews separately with 11 respondents in different age, nationality and occupation. The results show that consumer perception on wine quality is influenced by four extrinsic cues (Country of Manufacturing, price, credible endorsements, brand) and four intrinsic cues (package, taste, aroma, wine legs). Hence, this paper conclude that it is possible for Chinse wine to improve its overall consumer perception by improving competence in other determinants of perceived wine quality.

Orientador: Paulo Sergio Moreira Carvalho de Oliveira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T21:02:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodrigues_PedroAugustodaPos_M.pdf: 3475275 bytes, checksum: 8ba90669e5ed880eab0fca20ec5bb371 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Em matas de restinga da Ilha do Cardoso (SP), forrageadoras da formiga arborícola crepuscular/noturna Odontomachus hastatus podem caçar a > 8 m do ninho. O forrageamento se dá principalmente no dossel, em uma intricada rede de galhos, onde esta formiga deve ser capaz de aprender o caminho de retorno ao ninho. O ambiente do dossel e seu hábito noturno tornam esta espécie um interessante modelo para pesquisa em orientação espacial. Para investigar os mecanismos de orientação empregados por O. hastatus, realizamos experimentos sob condições controladas em laboratório, usando uma arena circular onde marcas visuais e químicas poderiam ser manipuladas. Testamos a influência de: (i) um padrão de dossel artificial; (ii) pistas visuais horizontais; (iii) uma pista tridimensional (cilindro); e (iv) pistas químicas na superfície do chão da arena. Nossos resultados demonstram que O. hastatus se guia principalmente por pistas visuais (pistas do dossel e pistas horizontais), o que está de acordo com o encontrado em formigas diurnas. A luminosidade noturna (lua/estrelas) é aparentemente suficiente para produzir silhuetas contrastantes do dossel e vegetação circundante, e podem ser importantes referenciais de orientação. Por outro lado, substâncias químicas não funcionaram como pistas para o retorno de forrageadoras. Ao contrário do chão plano da arena circular, é possível que marcas químicas sejam importantes na marcação de rotas arbóreas bifurcadas de O. hastatus. O uso de pistas químicas por formigas é geralmente considerado importante para orientação noturna e este trabalho é a primeira demonstração experimental do uso de pistas visuais por uma formiga noturna e arborícola. O presente estudo contribui para o desenvolvimento de estudos comparativos sobre a evolução da orientação espacial em formigas e outros insetos. / Abstract: In the 'restinga' sandy plain forest of Ilha do Cardoso (SP), foragers of the crepuscular/nocturnal arboreal ant Odontomacus hastatus may hunt > 8 m away from their nests. Foraging takes place mainly in the canopy amongst the intricate net of branches and bifurcations, where ant foragers must be able to learn the way back to the nest. The canopy environment together with the nocturnal habit makes this species an interesting model for research on spatial orientation. In order to investigate orientation mechanisms employed by O. hastatus, we performed controlled laboratory experiments using a circular arena where chemical and visual cues could be manipulated. We tested the influence of: (i) an artificial canopy pattern; (ii) horizontal visual cues; (iii) a tridimensional cue (cylinder); (iv) chemical cues on the ground surface. Our results demonstrate that O. hastatus is guided mainly by visual cues (canopy and horizontal cues), which is in accordance with other diurnal arboreal ants. Nocturnal luminosity (moon/stars) is apparently sufficient to produce contrasting silhouettes from the canopy and surrounding vegetation, which may be important as orientation references. On the other hand, chemical substances provided no cues to returning foragers. Contrary to the plain floor of the circular arena, it is possible that chemical cues are important for marking bifurcated arboreal routes of O. hastatus. The use of chemical cues by ants is generally considered / Mestrado / Ecologia / Mestre em Ecologia

In some animal societies, access to breeding depends on the individual’s position in a hierarchy, which often depends on an individual’s size. In such societies, individuals may engage in competitive growth, trying to outgrow one another to attain a higher rank. This suggests that members of the hierarchy can track changes in the growth and size of potential competitors and respond accordingly. The clown anemonefish, Amphiprion percula, is one species known to exhibit competitive growth at the initiation of size hierarchies. Here, we use 5 combinations of sensory cues to determine which cues must be available to initiate competitive growth between size-matched individuals. Our results show that mechanosensory (pressure and/or touch) cues are used to assess size and initiate competitive growth. This study provides an understanding into the relationship between environment and phenotypic response in a social context.

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