BERG May 2022

berg@lists.stir.ac.uk

4 participants
10 discussions

by Pawel Fedurek

Dear All, Some of you might be interested - please see below. Best wishes, Pawel ------------------------------- Dr Pawel Fedurek (he/his) Lecturer in Psychology Behaviour and Evolution Research Group (BERG) Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland, UK Tel: +44 (0)1786 467844<tel:+441786467844> Twitter: @fedurekp<https://twitter.com/fedurekp> @BERG_Stirling<https://twitter.com/BERG_Stirling> Staff page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/1080868> | BERG page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…> I aim to reply within 3 working days (my working days are between Monday and Friday). ________________________________ From: Zsuzsa Lugosi <zsuzsa.lugosi(a)stir.ac.uk> Sent: 27 May 2022 11:23 To: Pawel Fedurek <pawel.fedurek(a)stir.ac.uk> Subject: BERG connections Hello Pawel, I was wondering if, once you are back, would you be able to send Eva Reindl's paper (attached) around for the BERGers? There was a really exciting discussion after Eva's talk, Bill offered to send some material to Eva also. Her email address is: eva.reindl(a)live.de Thank you! All the best, Zsuzsa ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

2 years, 11 months

BERG seminar today, 16:00

by Gema Martin-Ordas

Dear BERGers, This is just a reminder that today our own Shelley Culpepper is giving a seminar about her PhD study entitled "Interspecific Olfactory Perception of Human Emotions: From the Horses Perspective". Please see the abstract, and the link to the meeting, below. Abstract: Species are equipped with odour receptors adapted to perceive olfactory signals, helping them assess and adapt to corresponding ecological challenges, e.g. food acquisition, predator avoidance and mate selection (Niimura & Nei, 2006). Olfactory perception is crucial to the survival of prey species such as the horse (Equus caballus). Interestingly, although horses have been domesticated by humans for thousands of years, little research has been conducted on horse olfactory perception. Even less is known about the extent to which emotion-driven differences in odours emitted by humans may be perceived by and thus potentially affecting horses. Currently, only two studies have explored the horse’s olfactory perception of human emotions, and both only on two main emotions – each focusing on the horse’s response to human body odours emitted during the humans’ emotional experience of ‘fear’ and ‘happy’ (Lanata et al., 2018; Sabiniewicz et al., 2020). The current study will be a conceptual replication of Sabiniewicz et al (2020). Five men and five women Psychology students from University of Northampton will wear odour-collection pads while viewing short video clips associated with fear, happiness, and sadness. Fourteen Thoroughbred racehorses in the UK will then be individually exposed to each individual odour and behaviourally compared against Sabiniewicz and colleagues’ ethogram to assess the extent to which their behaviour varies in response to the emotion-driven differences in human body odour. These findings will provide further context to the two main current studies, contribute to scientific progress and integrity via a replication, and include an important additional methodological consideration via exploration of a third human emotion – sadness, which may also have practical implications. Enhancing our understanding of olfactory human-horse interactions could provide new ways to optimize their health and welfare (Merkies & Franzin, 2021). Link to the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmee…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…> Gema ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

2 years, 12 months

BERG seminar, Wednesday 16:00

by Gema Martin-Ordas

Dear BERGers, This is a quick reminder that this Wednesday (25 May), our own Shelley Culpepper will be giving a seminar about her PhD study entitled "Interspecific Olfactory Perception of Human Emotions: From the Horses Perspective". Please see the abstract, and the link to the meeting, below. Abstract: Species are equipped with odour receptors adapted to perceive olfactory signals, helping them assess and adapt to corresponding ecological challenges, e.g. food acquisition, predator avoidance and mate selection (Niimura & Nei, 2006). Olfactory perception is crucial to the survival of prey species such as the horse (Equus caballus). Interestingly, although horses have been domesticated by humans for thousands of years, little research has been conducted on horse olfactory perception. Even less is known about the extent to which emotion-driven differences in odours emitted by humans may be perceived by and thus potentially affecting horses. Currently, only two studies have explored the horse’s olfactory perception of human emotions, and both only on two main emotions – each focusing on the horse’s response to human body odours emitted during the humans’ emotional experience of ‘fear’ and ‘happy’ (Lanata et al., 2018; Sabiniewicz et al., 2020). The current study will be a conceptual replication of Sabiniewicz et al (2020). Five men and five women Psychology students from University of Northampton will wear odour-collection pads while viewing short video clips associated with fear, happiness, and sadness. Fourteen Thoroughbred racehorses in the UK will then be individually exposed to each individual odour and behaviourally compared against Sabiniewicz and colleagues’ ethogram to assess the extent to which their behaviour varies in response to the emotion-driven differences in human body odour. These findings will provide further context to the two main current studies, contribute to scientific progress and integrity via a replication, and include an important additional methodological consideration via exploration of a third human emotion – sadness, which may also have practical implications. Enhancing our understanding of olfactory human-horse interactions could provide new ways to optimize their health and welfare (Merkies & Franzin, 2021). Link to the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmee…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…> Gema ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

3 years

UFAW LINK: Animalaw - Visions for the Future, On-line conference 18-22 July 2022

by Hannah Buchanan-Smith

This conference may be of interest to some From: Stephen Wickens <wickens(a)ufaw.org.uk Dear Hannah, Animalaw - Visions for the Future UFAW is collaborating with A-LAW in the organisation of an online conference to celebrate the bicentenary anniversary of Martin’s Act 1822, the first national legislation to protect animals from cruel treatment in the world. To mark this special occasion, a panel of 40 distinguished speakers from across the globe, will be sharing their vision for the future of animal law in a series of talks over five days (18-22 July 2022). They will look at what we have achieved, and ask where do we go from here to strengthen animal law? Each day will focus on a different area. Day 1 (July 18th): "About the animal. Reflecting science in law" Day 2 (July 19th): "Historic and contemporary perspectives on animal law" Day 3 (July 20th): "National and international representation of animals" Day 4 (July 21st): Parallel sessions on "Agricultural systems" and "The legal framework supporting the best welfare and protection" Day 5 (July 22nd): "Education and young voices" The timetable for the conference, speaker details and link to register can be found @ MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "yxnjj.smtpurl.com" claiming to be https://www.martinsact200.co.uk<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fyxnjj.smtp…> We hope it looks of interest and would be grateful if you could share the details with your colleagues and students – and the attached posts on the conference. Thank you. Stephen Dr Stephen Wickens UFAW, The Old School, Brewhouse Hill, Wheathampstead, Herts AL4 8AN, UK Email: wickens(a)ufaw.org.uk ; Direct Tel: +44(0)1276 500880; Office: +44(0)1582 831818 MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "c:" claiming to be www.ufaw.org.uk<C:\Users\Stephen%20Wickens\AppData\Local\Temp\~ed_sb_3\www.ufaw.org.uk> Hold the date: * Advancing animal welfare science<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fyxnjj.smtp…> Virtual UFAW Animal Welfare Conference 28-29th June 2022 For further information about UFAW awards, scholarships, meetings and other news follow us on: Facebook: Universities Federation for Animal Welfare - UFAW<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fyxnjj.smtp…> ; Twitter: @UFAW_1926<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fyxnjj.smtp…> The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) is an UK charity that works to develop and promote improvements in the welfare of all animals through scientific and educational activity worldwide. Registered Charity No 207996 (Registered in England) and Company Limited by Guarantee No 579991 Science in the service of animal welfare To unsubscribe from further emails on this meeting, click here<mailto:wickens@ufaw.org.uk> and enter unsubscribe in the subject [UFAW Conference 2022]<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fyxnjj.smtp…> ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

3 years

FW: BERG seminar today, 16:00

by Christine Caldwell

Dear BERGers, Quick reminder that today, Dr Eva Reindl (Durham University ) is giving a seminar for us about her research entitled "The structure of executive functions in preschool children and chimpanzees". Please see the abstract, and the link to the meeting, below. Abstract Humans are cognitively unique – but what are the abilities that underpin this uniqueness? One prominent explanation focuses on socio-cognitive abilities such as imitation, teaching, theory of mind, and prosociality. Another, complementary, suggestion is that modern humans differ in more domain-general cognitive mechanisms, namely Executive Functions. In this talk I will present a recent publication from our lab (Völter et al., 2022<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.natur…>) in which we studied and compared the structure of Executive Functions (specifically: working memory, inhibitory control, attention shifting) in 55 chimpanzees and 185 preschool children using a test battery of nine non-verbal, novel tasks. Research on human adults has demonstrated the elusive nature of executive functioning, with different labs identifying a different number and structure of latent factors underlying performance. Research on human children has tentatively pointed to a single common factor underlying performance in executive functions tasks. Our work adds to this perspective, finding some support for a 1-factor model explaining performance across tasks in both children and chimpanzees. I will discuss potential explanations for these results and briefly point to some ongoing further analyses of these data. About Eva: Eva is a postdoctoral research associate working with Prof Rachel Kendal, Prof Robert Barton (Durham University) and Dr Amanda Seed (University of St Andrews) on a project founded by the John Templeton Society investigating Sequence cognition in primates. She is broadly interested in learning which cognitive and social factors differentiate humans from other great apes. She is interested in sequence cognition, executive functions, social learning, cumulative culture, and tool use, among other topics. Eva completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Birmingham in 2017, working with Dr Claudio Tennie, Prof Sarah Beck, and Prof Ian Apperly on a project investigating the developmental origins of cumulative culture. After that, she held a teaching position at the School of Anthropology at the University of Oxford. In 2018, Eva moved to St Andrews to work as a postdoctoral researcher with Dr Amanda Seed on a project investigating the structure of executive functions in chimpanzees and human children. In 2021, Eva was a lecturer at Birmingham City University, before starting her current job at Durham University in 2022. Link to the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmee…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…> ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

3 years

BERG meeting this week: Eva Reindl discusses executive functions

by Christine Caldwell

Dear BERGers, This is a quick reminder that this Wednesday (18 May), Dr Eva Reindl (Durham University) will be giving a seminar about her research entitled "The structure of executive functions in preschool children and chimpanzees". Please see the abstract, and the link to the meeting, below. Abstract Humans are cognitively unique - but what are the abilities that underpin this uniqueness? One prominent explanation focuses on socio-cognitive abilities such as imitation, teaching, theory of mind, and prosociality. Another, complementary, suggestion is that modern humans differ in more domain-general cognitive mechanisms, namely Executive Functions. In this talk I will present a recent publication from our lab (Völter et al., 2022) in which we studied and compared the structure of Executive Functions (specifically: working memory, inhibitory control, attention shifting) in 55 chimpanzees and 185 preschool children using a test battery of nine non-verbal, novel tasks. Research on human adults has demonstrated the elusive nature of executive functioning, with different labs identifying a different number and structure of latent factors underlying performance. Research on human children has tentatively pointed to a single common factor underlying performance in executive functions tasks. Our work adds to this perspective, finding some support for a 1-factor model explaining performance across tasks in both children and chimpanzees. I will discuss potential explanations for these results and briefly point to some ongoing further analyses of these data. About Eva: Eva is a postdoctoral research associate working with Prof Rachel Kendal, Prof Robert Barton (Durham University) and Dr Amanda Seed (University of St Andrews) on a project founded by the John Templeton Society investigating Sequence cognition in primates. She is broadly interested in learning which cognitive and social factors differentiate humans from other great apes. She is interested in sequence cognition, executive functions, social learning, cumulative culture, and tool use, among other topics. Eva completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Birmingham in 2017, working with Dr Claudio Tennie, Prof Sarah Beck, and Prof Ian Apperly on a project investigating the developmental origins of cumulative culture. After that, she held a teaching position at the School of Anthropology at the University of Oxford. In 2018, Eva moved to St Andrews to work as a postdoctoral researcher with Dr Amanda Seed on a project investigating the structure of executive functions in chimpanzees and human children. In 2021, Eva was a lecturer at Birmingham City University, before starting her current job at Durham University in 2022. Link to the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmee… ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

3 years

Fw: In case anybody cares...

by Pawel Fedurek

Dear All, Some of you might be interested - please see below a message/paper from Alex that he sent after his seminar today. Best wishes, Pawel ------------------------------- Dr Pawel Fedurek (he/his) Lecturer in Psychology Behaviour and Evolution Research Group (BERG) Division of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Stirling Stirling, FK9 4LA Scotland, UK Tel: +44 (0)1786 467844<tel:+441786467844> Twitter: @fedurekp<https://twitter.com/fedurekp> @BERG_Stirling<https://twitter.com/BERG_Stirling> Staff page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/1080868> | BERG page<https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/faculties/natural-sciences/our-research/resear…> I aim to reply within 3 working days (my working days are between Monday and Friday). ________________________________ From: WEISS ALEXANDER <alex.weiss(a)ed.ac.uk> Sent: 11 May 2022 17:24 To: Pawel Fedurek <pawel.fedurek(a)stir.ac.uk> Subject: In case anybody cares... CAUTION: This email originated from outside University of Stirling. Do not follow links or open attachments if you doubt the authenticity of the sender or the content. ________________________________ Dear Pawel, Here's the article I mentioned. I've attached the html file in case anybody has problems with a paywall (I am not). https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/the-mind-of-donald-tru…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theat…> Best, Alex The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336. Is e buidheann carthannais a th’ ann an Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann, clàraichte an Alba, àireamh clàraidh SC005336. ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

3 years

BERG seminar today, 16:00

by Pawel Fedurek

Dear BERGers, A reminder that today, Dr Alexander Weiss (University of Edinburgh) is giving a seminar about his new paper entitled "Dominance in Human Personality Space and in Hominoid Phylogeny". Please see the abstract below. I am also attaching the accepted paper that Alex has kindly shared with us. Link to the meeting and a list of the forthcoming seminars are below this email. Hope to see you later! Abstract: Unlike nonhuman primates, individual differences between humans in dominance do not appear as broad personality factors. This may be attributable to differences between the questionnaires used to study human and nonhuman primate personality. Alternatively, this may reflect a difference in the organization of personality in humans and nonhuman primates. To determine which of these two possibilities was most likely 1147 participants were asked to rate their personality and/or that of somebody else on the Hominoid Personality Questionnaire (HPQ), which has been used to study nonhuman primate personality. A large subset of these participants (~80%) also completed self- and/or rater reports of one of three questionnaires used to measure human personality. Exploratory factor analyses of HPQ rater report data yielded five factors. These factors correlated mostly in expected ways with scales from questionnaires used to study human personality. Exploratory factor analyses of HPQ self-report data yielded no clear number of factors and no consistent evidence with respect to the presence of a dominance factor. Subsequent analyses compared HPQ scales that represented dominance factors in chimpanzees, bonobos, mountain gorillas, and orangutans, to scales derived from the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, including Fearless Dominance, which combined Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion facets, Emotional Stability (the inverse of Neuroticism), and Extraversion’s Assertiveness facet. Fearless Dominance was most like the great ape dominance factors. The absence of human dominance factors, therefore, appears to reflect present or past social conditions of our species. Link to the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmee…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…> Forthcoming seminars: Date Time Speaker Affiliation Seminar title 11/05/2022 16:00 Alexander Weiss University of Edinburgh Dominance in Human Personality Space and in Hominoid Phylogeny 18/05/2022 16:00 Eva Reindl Durham University TBC, investigating executive functions in children and chimps 25/05/2022 16:00 Shelley Culpepper University of Stirling Interspecific Olfactory Perception of Human Emotions: From the Horses Perspective ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

3 years

BERG seminar, Wednesday 16:00

by Pawel Fedurek

Dear BERGers, This is a quick reminder that this Wednesday (11 May), Dr Alexander Weiss (University of Edinburgh) will be giving a seminar about his new paper entitled "Dominance in Human Personality Space and in Hominoid Phylogeny". Please see the abstract below. I am also attaching the accepted paper that Alex has kindly shared with us. Link to the meeting and a list of the forthcoming seminars are below this email. Hope to see you on Wednesday! Abstract: Unlike nonhuman primates, individual differences between humans in dominance do not appear as broad personality factors. This may be attributable to differences between the questionnaires used to study human and nonhuman primate personality. Alternatively, this may reflect a difference in the organization of personality in humans and nonhuman primates. To determine which of these two possibilities was most likely 1147 participants were asked to rate their personality and/or that of somebody else on the Hominoid Personality Questionnaire (HPQ), which has been used to study nonhuman primate personality. A large subset of these participants (~80%) also completed self- and/or rater reports of one of three questionnaires used to measure human personality. Exploratory factor analyses of HPQ rater report data yielded five factors. These factors correlated mostly in expected ways with scales from questionnaires used to study human personality. Exploratory factor analyses of HPQ self-report data yielded no clear number of factors and no consistent evidence with respect to the presence of a dominance factor. Subsequent analyses compared HPQ scales that represented dominance factors in chimpanzees, bonobos, mountain gorillas, and orangutans, to scales derived from the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, including Fearless Dominance, which combined Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion facets, Emotional Stability (the inverse of Neuroticism), and Extraversion’s Assertiveness facet. Fearless Dominance was most like the great ape dominance factors. The absence of human dominance factors, therefore, appears to reflect present or past social conditions of our species. Link to the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmee…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…> Forthcoming seminars: Date Time Speaker Affiliation Seminar title 11/05/2022 16:00 Alexander Weiss University of Edinburgh Dominance in Human Personality Space and in Hominoid Phylogeny 18/05/2022 16:00 Eva Reindl Durham University TBC, investigating executive functions in children and chimps 25/05/2022 16:00 Shelley Culpepper University of Stirling Interspecific Olfactory Perception of Human Emotions: From the Horses Perspective ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

3 years

BERG seminar today, 16:00

by Pawel Fedurek

Dear BERGers, A reminder that today, Dr Laura Lewis (Harvard University) is giving a seminar about her comparative research on chimpanzee and bonobo cognition. Please find the abstract, and the link to the meeting, below. Hope to see you later! Abstract: "Humans have remarkable adaptations for processing and participating in intricately complex social groups. Foundational among them are our abilities to identify and differentiate between unique individuals, our long-term memory for social affiliates, and our ability to comprehend social language. Despite the centrality of these skills to human social life, we know relatively little about their evolutionary origins in our primate lineage. Humans’ closest relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, live in large social groups of up to 150 individuals but often range in smaller foraging parties that change in social composition throughout the day (i.e., fission-fusion dynamics). Consequently, they too would greatly benefit from these social cognitive skills. Importantly, the similarities and differences in the socioecology of chimpanzees and bonobos allow us to test competing hypotheses about the selective pressures that heightened humans’ sensitivity to group membership and drove the evolution of our complex sociality and language capacities. By studying these species’ socio-cognitive abilities and patterns, this dissertation aims to clarify the extent to which the cognitive foundations of humans’ social relationships are shared with our closest relatives and were likely already present in our last common ancestor. Utilizing non-invasive eye-tracking technology to explore social attention, long-term social memory, and socially referential language comprehension in chimpanzees and bonobos, this dissertation sheds light on the phylogenetic precursors of human social cognition and the selective pressures that led to the evolution of our uniquely sophisticated social environments.” Link to the meeting: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmee…<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fteams.mic…> Forthcoming seminars: Date Time Speaker Affiliation Seminar title 04/05/2022 16:00 Laura Lewis Harvard University TBC, bonobo and chimpanzee cognition 11/05/2022 16:00 Alexander Weiss University of Edinburgh TBC 18/05/2022 16:00 Eva Reindl Durham University TBC 25/05/2022 16:00 Shelley Culpepper University of Stirling Interspecific Olfactory Perception of Human Emotions: From the Horses Perspective ________________________________ The University achieved an overall 5 stars in the QS World University Rankings 2020 UK Sports University of the Year 2020 (Times Higher Good University Guide) The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.

3 years

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BERG May 2022