Abstract
The hypothesis tested was that social facilitation of feeding among young domestic chicks could be accounted for by the disinhibitory effects of a companion’s presence. The hypothesis predicted that pre-exposure to the test environment will decrease the apparent facilitative effect of the companion. Sixty chicks were tested either as singles or pairs 24 h following either no exposure, exposure as singles or exposure as pairs. Exposure increased feeding but independently of differences between singles and pairs, thus disconfirming the hypothesis.
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This work was supported by research grant APA 245 from the National Research Council of Canada.
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Tolman, C.W., Wellman, A.W. Social feeding in domestic chicks: A test of the disinhibition hypothesis. Psychon Sci 11, 35–36 (1968). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03328140
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03328140