Tenseness relaxed by vocalizing, illustrated by horses (Equus caballus) whinnying
Animal calls are commonly considered indicators of a sudden change in their arousal state. However, reports evidencing associated internal physiological changes are rare. By homology with human “emotional” vocal productions (e.g., laughter and crying), we predicted that animal vocal productions may result in relaxing tenseness or excitement. In this study, 15 stallions equipped with a […]
Mate call as reward: Acoustic communication signals can acquire positive reinforcing values during adulthood in female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)
Social stimuli can have rewarding properties and promote learning. In birds, conspecific vocalizations like song can act as a reinforcer, and specific song variants can acquire particular rewarding values during early life exposure. Here we ask if, during adulthood, an acoustic signal simpler and shorter than song can become a reward for a female songbird […]
Bonobos (Pan paniscus) vocally protest against violations of social expectations
Research has shown that great apes possess certain expectations about social regularities and both perceive and act according to social rules within their group. During natural and experimentally induced contexts, such as the inequitable distribution of resources, individuals also show protesting behaviors when their expectations about a social situation are violated. Despite broad interest in […]