Cetaceans have complex brains for complex cognition

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Pointing to visible and invisible targets

We investigated how the visibility of targets influenced the type of point used to provide directions. In Study 1 we asked 605 passersby in three localities for directions to well-known local landmarks. When that landmark was in plain view behind the requester, most respondents pointed with their index fingers, and few respondents pointed more than once. In contrast, when the landmark was not in view, respondents pointed initially with their index fingers, but often elaborated with a whole-hand point. In Study 2, we covertly filmed the responses from 157 passersby we approached for directions, capturing both verbal and gestural responses. As in Study 1, few respondents produced more than one gesture when the target was in plain view and initial points were most likely to be index finger points. Thus, in a Western geographical context in which pointing with the index finger is the dominant form of pointing, a slight change in circumstances elicited a preference for pointing with the whole hand when it was the second or third manual gesture in a sequence

Reflections: Students\u27 Tribute to Stan Kuczaj (1950-2016)

On April 14th, 2016, Animal Behavior and Cognition lost its Editor-in-Chief. But the scientific community and the friends and colleagues of Stanley ‘Stan’ Kuczaj III lost so much more. As many know, Stan began his career in Developmental Psychology, making enormous contributions in the area of language development, but became best known for his many innovative contributions in the area of marine mammal behavior. Stan founded Animal Behavior and Cognition because he was deeply passionate about research with a broad range of topics concerning animal behavior, animal cognition, and animal welfare. He was equally passionate about the idea that science should be accessible to all, and that accessibility should not come at a financial burden to researchers. The current editorial team is committed to carrying on Stan’s vision for the journal, and we believe that its continuation will pay homage to Stan as a researcher, and as a leader within the scientific community. However, for the next few pages, we wish to pay special tribute to Stan as a mentor, as this role was perhaps the one that was most pivotal in defining who he was as a scientist, colleague, and friend. We take comfort in the fact that Stan’s memory will live on in the legacy of his mentees, many of whom became cherished friends and colleagues. Below you will find reflections from several of these former students who were given the difficult task of trying to summarize the most meaningful aspect of Stan’s influence on their personal and professional development. Although no few words could summarize the impact of someone as enigmatic as Stan, we hope that these reflections will contribute to a full and nuanced tribute to the man he was

The Pendulum of Juvenile Justice Policy: Examining the Creation and Implementation of New York State’s Raise the Age Legislation

This paper discusses changes in juvenile justice policy, focusing largely on the last 40 years. Juvenile justice policy has historically transitioned quickly from conservative punitive strategies to liberal rehabilitative and lenient strategies. We see this most recently with the tough on crime strategies of the 1990s lowering the age of responsibility to now where states have decided to start raising the age of criminal responsibility up to 18 years old. This paper looks closely at what caused this most recent shift and gives historical context as to how juvenile justice policy trends may have predicted this

It Takes More Than Fish: The Psychology of Marine Mammal Training

The use of novel objects as environmental enrichment devices is a key aspect of many environmental enrichment programs, regardless of whether the animals being enriched are housed in aquaria, zoos, or laboratories. The effectiveness of novel objects as enrichment devices depends on a number of factors, many of which are based on findings from comparative psychology. For example, the literature on habituation predicts that an object that is always in an animal’s environment will be less interesting than a similar object that is available only on an intermittent basis. To test the hypothesis that type of exposure to objects affects the objects’ enriching qualities, we exposed sixteen animals from ten different species to novel objects in two different conditions. In the first condition, animals were exposed to a novel object for a total of 120 min, 60 min at a time on two separate occasions. Approximately three weeks later, the animals were once again given a total of 120 min to interact with the object that they had experienced in the first condition, but the amount of time the object was available per session was much more variable. The results demonstrate that variable presentations are more likely to maintain the enriching qualities of objects, consistent with the literature on habituation

It Takes More Than Fish: The Psychology of Marine Mammal Training

The use of novel objects as environmental enrichment devices is a key aspect of many environmental enrichment programs, regardless of whether the animals being enriched are housed in aquaria, zoos, or laboratories. The effectiveness of novel objects as enrichment devices depends on a number of factors, many of which are based on findings from comparative psychology. For example, the literature on habituation predicts that an object that is always in an animal’s environment will be less interesting than a similar object that is available only on an intermittent basis. To test the hypothesis that type of exposure to objects affects the objects’ enriching qualities, we exposed sixteen animals from ten different species to novel objects in two different conditions. In the first condition, animals were exposed to a novel object for a total of 120 min, 60 min at a time on two separate occasions. Approximately three weeks later, the animals were once again given a total of 120 min to interact with the object that they had experienced in the first condition, but the amount of time the object was available per session was much more variable. The results demonstrate that variable presentations are more likely to maintain the enriching qualities of objects, consistent with the literature on habituation