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An investigation of socially-mediated emotional transfer in the chicken

鸡的社交介导情绪转移的研究

基本信息

批准号：
BB/J021679/1
负责人：
Christine Nicol
金额：
$ 42.56万
依托单位：
University of Bristol
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2012
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2012 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FJ021679%2F1
关键词：
investigation socially mediated emotional transfer

项目摘要

To ensure good animal welfare we need to identify, and then take steps to alleviate, causes of possible distress. Much research has focussed directly on physical, environmental and social situations that are distressing to laboratory or farm animals. Our proposed research takes a different angle and addresses the possibiity that animals might additionally experience distress when their own situation is good, but when they witness distress in others. In its most advanced form, this capacity might be called empathy, implying that the witness understands the reasons for its companion's distress. In humans, and perhaps great apes, such advanced abilities to understand the plight of another may promote positive social behaviour or "helping". However, the roots of empathy probably lie in a set of much simpler, building block, processes. One of these building blocks is emotional matching, also called emotional transfer or emotional contagion. These terms refer to situations where physiological or behavioural signs of distress in one animal to trigger a shared or matching response in an observer. In human infants emotional transfer is shown when the crying of one baby produces a similar crying response in others nearby. Our recent work has shown that, under some circumstances, chickens show this type of emotional transfer. We found that mother hens react strongly and consistently (with changes in heart-rate, comb-temperature, vocalisations and other behavioural changes) when their chicks receive a mild air-puff. The aim of this research is to discover much more about the situations under which this emotional transfer takes place in chickens. The research will be useful in clarifying a field of research where results can often be over-interpreted and advanced abilities claimed when they may not really exist. But the research also has important animal welfare implications. If animals are upset by seeing distress in others this may guide our veterinary, transport or even slaughter practices. It is also possible that animals in a poor state of welfare are more likely to show emotional transfer, leading to harmful outbreaks of group panic. We will address a number of fundamental questions in small-scale experiments with chickens: - does the observing hen find it unpleasant to witness distress in her chicks? - does emotional transfer occur when the observing hen is in a good emotional state herself, and when she "knows" she is in no personal danger? - does emotional transfer help the observing hen to acquire important information about pleasant and unpleasant situations? - to what extent does emotional transfer depend on the strength of the social relationship between the observing hen and the individual (chick or adult chicken) that receives the mildly unpleasant stimulus?- is emotional transfer more likely if a hen is in a poor welfare state? Taken together these studies will shed new light on the extent to which non-primate animals may share emotions. Although our laboratory studies will not directly inform policy decision on animal handling, transport or slaughter, the results will be highly relevant to these areas, and will therefore provide a platform for more applied studies on farms, laboratories and abattoirs.

为了确保良好的动物福利，我们需要确定，然后采取措施，以减轻可能的痛苦的原因。许多研究直接集中在对实验室或农场动物造成痛苦的物理、环境和社会状况上。我们提出的研究采取了不同的角度，并解决了动物在自己的情况良好时可能会额外经历痛苦的可能性，但当他们目睹他人的痛苦时。在其最高级的形式，这种能力可能被称为移情，这意味着证人理解其同伴的痛苦的原因。在人类身上，也许还有类人猿，这种理解他人困境的高级能力可能会促进积极的社会行为或“帮助”。然而，共情的根源可能在于一系列更简单的构建过程。其中一个组成部分是情感匹配，也称为情感转移或情感感染。这些术语指的是一种动物的生理或行为痛苦迹象在观察者中引发共享或匹配反应的情况。在人类婴儿中，当一个婴儿的哭声在附近的其他婴儿中产生类似的哭声反应时，就会显示出情感转移。我们最近的研究表明，在某些情况下，鸡会表现出这种情绪转移。我们发现，当母鸡的小鸡接受温和的空气时，母鸡的反应强烈而一致（心率，鸡冠温度，发声和其他行为变化）。这项研究的目的是发现更多关于这种情绪转移发生在鸡身上的情况。这项研究将有助于澄清一个研究领域，在这个领域中，结果往往被过度解释，高级能力在实际上可能并不存在时被声称。但这项研究也有重要的动物福利意义。如果动物看到别人的痛苦而感到不安，这可能会指导我们的兽医，运输甚至屠宰做法。也有可能是处于不良福利状态的动物更容易表现出情绪转移，导致有害的群体恐慌爆发。我们将解决一些基本问题的小规模实验鸡：-观察母鸡发现不愉快的见证痛苦在她的小鸡吗？- 当观察的母鸡自己处于良好的情绪状态时，当她“知道”自己没有人身危险时，情绪转移是否会发生？- 情绪转移是否有助于观察母鸡获得关于愉快和不愉快情况的重要信息？- 情绪转移在多大程度上取决于观察母鸡和接受轻度不愉快刺激的个体（小鸡或成年鸡）之间社会关系的强度？如果母鸡的福利状况不好，情绪转移的可能性会更大吗？这些研究将为非灵长类动物分享情感的程度提供新的线索。虽然我们的实验室研究不会直接为动物处理、运输或屠宰的政策决定提供信息，但研究结果将与这些领域高度相关，因此将为农场、实验室和屠宰场的更多应用研究提供平台。