animal cooperation

behavior in which two or more nonhuman animals act together in a way that leads to mutual benefit. Examples include the cooperative nest building, food finding, and care of young in social insects, the mobbing behavior of some animals toward a predator, and the production of specific signals to indicate sources of food or shelter to others. It is not known whether cases of animal cooperation require that the animals understand the need to cooperate (see cooperation).

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Psychology term of the day

November 19th 2024

stepdown test

a memory test used in studies of shock-avoidance learning in rats and mice. When the animal first steps down from an elevated platform in the test chamber, it receives a brief foot shock. On subsequent test trials, the animal is usually much slower to step down, indicating its memory for the shock experience; a lack of hesitation in stepping down on postshock trials is considered a sign of cognitive impairment. Also called stepdown avoidance.