Behaviour of horses in a judgment bias test associated with positive or negative reinforcement

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

Behaviour of horses in a judgment bias test associated with positive or negative reinforcement. / Briefer Freymond, Sabrina; Briefer, Elodie F.; Zollinger, Anja; Gindrat-von Allmen, Yveline; Wyss, Christa; Bachmann, Iris.

In: Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Vol. 158, 2014, p. 34-45.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Briefer Freymond, S, Briefer, EF, Zollinger, A, Gindrat-von Allmen, Y, Wyss, C & Bachmann, I 2014, 'Behaviour of horses in a judgment bias test associated with positive or negative reinforcement', Applied Animal Behaviour Science, vol. 158, pp. 34-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2014.06.006

APA

Briefer Freymond, S., Briefer, E. F., Zollinger, A., Gindrat-von Allmen, Y., Wyss, C., & Bachmann, I. (2014). Behaviour of horses in a judgment bias test associated with positive or negative reinforcement. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 158, 34-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2014.06.006

Vancouver

Briefer Freymond S, Briefer EF, Zollinger A, Gindrat-von Allmen Y, Wyss C, Bachmann I. Behaviour of horses in a judgment bias test associated with positive or negative reinforcement. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2014;158:34-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2014.06.006

Author

Briefer Freymond, Sabrina ; Briefer, Elodie F. ; Zollinger, Anja ; Gindrat-von Allmen, Yveline ; Wyss, Christa ; Bachmann, Iris. / Behaviour of horses in a judgment bias test associated with positive or negative reinforcement. In: Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2014 ; Vol. 158. pp. 34-45.

Bibtex

@article{88b3c1b6e85c47a18bf73c1f7ba51a60,
title = "Behaviour of horses in a judgment bias test associated with positive or negative reinforcement",
abstract = "Moods can influence our judgment of ambiguous stimuli as positive or negative. Measuring judgment bias in animals is a promising method to objectively assess their emotional states. Our study aimed to develop a cognitive bias test in horses, in order to assess the effect of training using positive reinforcement (PR) or negative reinforcement (NR) on their emotional states. We trained 12 mares to discriminate between a rewarded and a non-rewarded location situated on each side of a paddock. The mares were then trained during five days to perform several exercises using PR (n= 6) for one group, and NR (n= 6) for the other (treatment). Finally, we compared the responses of the two groups to three ambiguous locations situated between the rewarded and non-rewarded locations (judgment bias test). During the training exercises, according to our predictions, behavioural measures suggested that NR mares experienced more negative emotions than PR mares. Surprisingly, the results of the judgment bias test suggest that NR mares were in a more optimistic mood compared to PR mares, despite previously experiencing more negative emotions during the treatment. NR mares could have been more motivated to obtain a food reward than PR mares, which had been rewarded throughout the treatment phase. Alternatively, NR mares could have developed optimistic bias triggered by release from the negative state experienced during treatment. This first attempt to test judgment bias in horses suggests that this is a promising method to measure horse mood. Knowledge about the effect of training methods on the mental health of domesticated animals can add a new dimension to animal welfare, in order to promote better ways to work with animals.",
keywords = "Cognitive bias, Emotions, Equus caballus, Optimism, Training method",
author = "{Briefer Freymond}, Sabrina and Briefer, {Elodie F.} and Anja Zollinger and {Gindrat-von Allmen}, Yveline and Christa Wyss and Iris Bachmann",
note = "Funding Information: We are grateful to H. Zurkinden, to the vet team of ISME at Agroscope Swiss National Stud Farm, and to all the staff of Agroscope Swiss National Stud Farm for assistance. We are also grateful to S. Hintze and A. McElligott for helpful comments on the manuscript. E. Briefer is funded by a Swiss National Science Foundation (PZ00P3_148200) fellowship.",
year = "2014",
doi = "10.1016/j.applanim.2014.06.006",
language = "English",
volume = "158",
pages = "34--45",
journal = "Applied Animal Behaviour Science",
issn = "0168-1591",
publisher = "Elsevier",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Behaviour of horses in a judgment bias test associated with positive or negative reinforcement

AU - Briefer Freymond, Sabrina

AU - Briefer, Elodie F.

AU - Zollinger, Anja

AU - Gindrat-von Allmen, Yveline

AU - Wyss, Christa

AU - Bachmann, Iris

N1 - Funding Information: We are grateful to H. Zurkinden, to the vet team of ISME at Agroscope Swiss National Stud Farm, and to all the staff of Agroscope Swiss National Stud Farm for assistance. We are also grateful to S. Hintze and A. McElligott for helpful comments on the manuscript. E. Briefer is funded by a Swiss National Science Foundation (PZ00P3_148200) fellowship.

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Moods can influence our judgment of ambiguous stimuli as positive or negative. Measuring judgment bias in animals is a promising method to objectively assess their emotional states. Our study aimed to develop a cognitive bias test in horses, in order to assess the effect of training using positive reinforcement (PR) or negative reinforcement (NR) on their emotional states. We trained 12 mares to discriminate between a rewarded and a non-rewarded location situated on each side of a paddock. The mares were then trained during five days to perform several exercises using PR (n= 6) for one group, and NR (n= 6) for the other (treatment). Finally, we compared the responses of the two groups to three ambiguous locations situated between the rewarded and non-rewarded locations (judgment bias test). During the training exercises, according to our predictions, behavioural measures suggested that NR mares experienced more negative emotions than PR mares. Surprisingly, the results of the judgment bias test suggest that NR mares were in a more optimistic mood compared to PR mares, despite previously experiencing more negative emotions during the treatment. NR mares could have been more motivated to obtain a food reward than PR mares, which had been rewarded throughout the treatment phase. Alternatively, NR mares could have developed optimistic bias triggered by release from the negative state experienced during treatment. This first attempt to test judgment bias in horses suggests that this is a promising method to measure horse mood. Knowledge about the effect of training methods on the mental health of domesticated animals can add a new dimension to animal welfare, in order to promote better ways to work with animals.

AB - Moods can influence our judgment of ambiguous stimuli as positive or negative. Measuring judgment bias in animals is a promising method to objectively assess their emotional states. Our study aimed to develop a cognitive bias test in horses, in order to assess the effect of training using positive reinforcement (PR) or negative reinforcement (NR) on their emotional states. We trained 12 mares to discriminate between a rewarded and a non-rewarded location situated on each side of a paddock. The mares were then trained during five days to perform several exercises using PR (n= 6) for one group, and NR (n= 6) for the other (treatment). Finally, we compared the responses of the two groups to three ambiguous locations situated between the rewarded and non-rewarded locations (judgment bias test). During the training exercises, according to our predictions, behavioural measures suggested that NR mares experienced more negative emotions than PR mares. Surprisingly, the results of the judgment bias test suggest that NR mares were in a more optimistic mood compared to PR mares, despite previously experiencing more negative emotions during the treatment. NR mares could have been more motivated to obtain a food reward than PR mares, which had been rewarded throughout the treatment phase. Alternatively, NR mares could have developed optimistic bias triggered by release from the negative state experienced during treatment. This first attempt to test judgment bias in horses suggests that this is a promising method to measure horse mood. Knowledge about the effect of training methods on the mental health of domesticated animals can add a new dimension to animal welfare, in order to promote better ways to work with animals.

KW - Cognitive bias

KW - Emotions

KW - Equus caballus

KW - Optimism

KW - Training method

U2 - 10.1016/j.applanim.2014.06.006

DO - 10.1016/j.applanim.2014.06.006

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:84905908936

VL - 158

SP - 34

EP - 45

JO - Applied Animal Behaviour Science

JF - Applied Animal Behaviour Science

SN - 0168-1591

ER -

ID: 356631677