Collaborative Research: RUI: Cognitive Overload versus Enhanced Performance: Is More Information Always Better?

任何一个看过孔雀表演的人都可以证明，交流信号是我们这个星球上动物多样性中最引人注目的特征之一。 一个需要回答的基本问题是，在什么条件下会产生复杂的通信信号？ 为了解决这个问题，将对中美洲雨林的两种居民，tungara青蛙和它的捕食者，食蛙蝙蝠进行一系列实验。 雄性通加拉青蛙在雨林喧闹的背景下发出声音，试图吸引配偶。在发声的同时，青蛙也会在喉咙里膨胀一个大囊，在它们周围产生一连串的水波纹。 实验将解决如何以及何时这些不同的信号分量被一只寻找配偶的雌性青蛙或一只寻找食物的蝙蝠使用。动物行为研究中的一个常见假设是，动物信号中的附加信息总是提高信号接收者定位信号发送者的能力。 然而，在对人类的研究中，人们认为更多的信息会导致认知超载，降低决策能力。 这项研究将解决的条件下，增加的信息提高或降低动物的通信信号的效率。 该项目还将包括培训未来的科学家，从本科生到博士后研究人员。 此外，从该项目中获得的知识将通过大学和小学的学生培训以及通过博物馆展览向公众宣传来传播。 动物行为学的一个基本问题是，动物如何利用现有信息来告知适应性行为？在行为生态学中，常常有一个隐含的假设，即信息越多越好。然而，在人类心理物理学中，有大量证据表明，更多的信息会导致认知过载，扰乱信号检测和决策。研究人员先前的结果已经清楚地表明，雄性通加拉蛙交配展示的信息与两个接收者的反应（雌性青蛙或其捕食者，食蛙蝙蝠）并不是线性相关的。为了解决这个问题，“更多的信息总是更好的”，一系列的回放实验将在越来越复杂的多模态背景噪声的条件下进行。 这些实验噪音水平将模拟环境中自然发生的可变噪音水平。将评估两个接收器（雌性青蛙和蝙蝠捕食者）回放呼叫的性能（决策准确性和延迟），为理解动物决策如何在复杂的世界中发生做出关键贡献。这将是第一项明确对比假设的研究，即环境中增加的信息会导致接收者的表现增强或认知过载。这项研究的一个附加价值是，它将产生两个非常不同的物种的信息，具有根本不同的感觉系统和认知能力。 这将增强解释的一般性，提供不同的认知系统如何处理环境噪声的见解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

As anyone who has seen the display of a peacock can attest, communication signals form some of the most striking features of animal diversity on our planet. A fundamental question to be answered is, under what conditions do elaborate communication signals develop? To address this, a series of experiments will be conducted on two inhabitants of the Central American rainforest, the tungara frog, and its predator, the frog-eating bat. Male tungara frogs vocalize in the noisy backdrop of the rainforest as they attempt to attract a mate. While vocalizing, the frogs also inflate a large sac in their throat which generates a cascade of water ripples surrounding them. The experiments will address how and when each of these different signal components is used by a female frog searching for a mate or a bat searching for a meal. A common assumption in studies of animal behavior is that, additional information in an animal's signal always improves the ability of signal recipients to locate that signaler. In studies on humans, however, it is understood that more information can lead to cognitive overload and degrade decision performance. This study will address the conditions under which added information improves or degrades the efficiency of animal communication signals. The project will also incorporate training of future scientists, ranging from undergraduate students to post-doctoral researchers. Further, the knowledge gained from the project will be disseminated through student training at universities and primary schools as well as public outreach through museum displays. A fundamental question in animal behavior is, how do animals utilize available information to inform adaptive behaviors? In behavioral ecology there is often the implicit assumption that more information is better. In human psychophysics, however, there is substantial evidence to show that more information can lead to cognitive overload and disrupt signal detection and decision-making. Previous results from the investigators have made it clear that information in the male tungara frog's mating display is not linearly related to the response of two receivers, the female frog or its predator, the frog-eating bat. To address the question, "is more information always better," a series of playback experiments will be conducted under conditions of increasingly complex multimodal background noise. These experimental noise levels will mimic the variable noise levels that occur naturally in the environment. The performance (decision accuracy and latency) of the two receivers (female frog and bat predator) to playback calls will be assessed, making a critical contribution to an understanding of how animal decision-making occurs in a complex world. This will be the first study to explicitly contrast hypotheses that added information in the environment leads to either enhanced performance or cognitive overload on the part of the receiver. An added value of this study is that it will yield information on two very different species, with fundamentally different sensory systems and cognitive abilities. This will enhance the generality of the interpretations, providing insights into how different cognitive systems deal with environmental noise.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.