Preference Testing & Consumer Demand
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What insights on conscious perception can measuring animal decisions give us?
Priorities Sensation Mood
Give some examples of decision making tests?
Preference test Consumer Demand test Conditioned Place Preference test Threshold test Cognitive Bias test
What do decision making tests help us see?
If the animal is: Fit and feeling good Healthy and have what they want Living according to their nature/telos Has their 5 freedoms/needs met
What do decision making tests not let us see?
If the animal is coping If the animal has a life worth living or a good life This one is debatable
How do you do a preference test?
The animal is given 2 or more options and then you measure an indicator of their preference
What are examples of indicators of preference in preference tests?
Latency to choose Frequency of interacting with each option Duration of interacting with each option
Name a historical example of a preference test?
Hughes and Black’s 1973 experiment to see the preference of domestic laying hens for different types of battery cage floors.
What were the findings of Hughes and Black’s 1973 preference test?
The hens preferred a lighter mesh floor than a heavier mesh floor. This is thought to be due to contact points on the floor that the lighter mesh provided.
What were the results of Burn and Mason’s 2008 rat preference test?
Rats have no preference between freshly cleaned and scent-marked cages. However the rats did show preference for being with their friends/group, since they’d move around together.
How are non-human animals different to humans?
They have different senses
Why do we need preference tests?
Non-human animals have different sensory capabilities to humans They help to avoid anthropocentricity and anthropomorphism
What must we be careful to account for when interpreting data from preference tests?
Animal perceptual capabilities are different Integration of information may be different for animals How animals express themselves as a motivation
How can preference tests be useful in formalising observations of approach- avoidance behaviour?
It can show us Valence Animals will usually avoid things they don’t like, but their are exceptions and vice versa
Can preference tests allow us to see what creatures prefer when you can’t use other indicators?
Yes
Give an example of when a preference test allows us to see what creatures prefer when you can’t use other indicators?
Insects are an example of an animal which we’d use preference tests to see their Valence as we can’t use many other indicators to do so
Because preference is subjective what must you do?
Measure indicators to make it objective
What must we be aware of about preferences subjective nature?
Preference is subjective so it’s a personal choice which may not represent other animals
When and who did the first preference test?
Dawkins in 1976
What was Dawkins’ 1976 preference test about?
She wanted to see if hens preferred battery cages or free range systems
What indicator did Dawkins 1976 use?
The speed at which the hen moved from the start box into either an empty cage or an outdoor run Dawkins measured the latency of approach to the stimulus
What were Dawkins 1976 findings?
Hens used to living outside moved more quickly to the outside run Battery-kept birds moved more quickly into the battery cages When hens were familiar with both environments the hens showed no significant preference This showed that prior experience was really important to hen preference The hens preferred the familiar and were afraid of the unfamiliar
What are some potential reasons for the lack of difference when the hens were familiar with both environments in Dawkins 1976 experiment?
Maybe hens don’t care where they live Maybe the need to explore both options was too great The hens didn’t know which scenario to explore first Maybe the hens like having both options on different days Maybe speed of running wasn’t the best measure Maybe they ran to avoid the start box
Define anthropocentricity
An inclination to evaluate reality in terms of human values
Define anthropomorphism
The attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to a god, animal or object