The Effect of Demonstrator Social Rank on the Attentiveness and Motivation of Pigs to Positively Interact with Their Human Caretakers

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dc.contributor.authorLuna, Daniela
dc.contributor.authorGonzalez, Catalina
dc.contributor.authorByrd, Christopher J.
dc.contributor.authorPalomo, Rocio
dc.contributor.authorHuenul, Elizabeth
dc.contributor.authorFigueroa, Jaime
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-10T13:10:16Z
dc.date.available2024-01-10T13:10:16Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractSimple Summary Motivation to express a socially learned behavior can be inhibited or facilitated by the presence of socially dominant individuals, who often attract greater attention from their conspecifics. This study investigated whether experienced pigs (termed "demonstrators") of higher rank attract greater attention from their pen mates when they are observed from behind an acrylic panel while being gently handled by the stockperson. We also investigated whether the presence of a demonstrator pig of different social rank, who previously established a positive relationship with the stockperson in presence of conspecifics, affects the motivation and behaviors of their pen mates to positively interact with humans. Our results show that during the gentle handling of the demonstrator, there was an overall preference for observer pigs to visually attend to the dominant demonstrators more than the low-ranking demonstrators. Furthermore, our study shows that the proximity of a dominant demonstrator pig interfered with the motivation of their pen mates to positively interact with the stockperson, whereas the presence of a subordinate demonstrator facilitated the expression of a greater affinity toward the human, resulting in longer physical contact, and a higher percentage of accepted strokes. These findings reveal that social dynamics and dominance rank have a strong effect on the attentional state and the facilitation and inhibition of social behaviors in domestic pigs. In this study, we addressed the social attentiveness, as well as the phenomenon of social facilitation and inhibition in the context of a positive human-pig relationship. Specifically, we investigated whether the social rank of an experienced pig (termed "demonstrator") has an effect on the attentiveness of the remaining pen mates (N = 40) when they observe the demonstrator being gently handled by a stockperson from behind an acrylic panel. We found that pigs preferentially attended to dominant demonstrators rather than subordinate demonstrators during their gentle handling sessions with the stockperson. Additionally, we also examined whether the presence of a demonstrator pig of different social rank, who previously established a positive relationship with the stockperson in presence of conspecifics, affects the behavior and motivation of their pen mates to positively interact with the stockperson. To test for the effect of the presence and demonstrator's social rank on pen mate interactions with the stockperson, we evaluated the behavior of domestic pigs (N = 65) toward the stockperson using a human-approach test in their home-pen. Pigs showed a decrease in their motivation to positively interact with the stockperson when a socially dominant demonstrator was present, behaving similarly to animals receiving minimal human contact (control group). Overall, they exhibited a greater latency to physical contact, a lower acceptance of stroking, and spent more time looking at the stockperson compared to pigs exposed to subordinate demonstrators. Taken together, these findings expand our current understanding of pigs' cognition and social behavior, and the nature of social attention bias in farm animals. Our findings indicate that positive handling of previously selected subordinate demonstrators seems to be the best strategy to reduce the level of fear in large groups of pigs.
dc.description.funderNational Research and Development Agency (ANID) through the Programme FONDECYT
dc.fechaingreso.objetodigital2024-05-23
dc.format.extent21 páginas
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/ani11072140
dc.identifier.issn2076-2615
dc.identifier.pubmedidMEDLINE:34359267
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072140
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/77820
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000678147100001
dc.information.autorucFacultad de Agronomía e Ingenieria Forestal; Luna Fernández, Daniela Fanny; S/I; 1093595
dc.issue.numero7
dc.language.isoen
dc.nota.accesoContenido completo
dc.publisherMDPI
dc.revistaANIMALS
dc.rightsacceso abierto
dc.subjectattentional bias
dc.subjecthuman-pig relationship
dc.subjectpig welfare
dc.subjectsocial learning
dc.subjectsocial rank
dc.subjectsocial relationships
dc.subjectobservational learning
dc.subjectCAPUCHIN MONKEYS
dc.subjectCOMMON MARMOSETS
dc.subjectBEHAVIOR
dc.subjectATTENTION
dc.subjectPIGLETS
dc.subjectEXPERIENCE
dc.subjectNEOPHOBIA
dc.subjectVIGILANCE
dc.subjectANIMALS
dc.subjectGROWTH
dc.subject.ods13 Climate Action
dc.subject.odspa13 Acción por el clima
dc.titleThe Effect of Demonstrator Social Rank on the Attentiveness and Motivation of Pigs to Positively Interact with Their Human Caretakers
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen11
sipa.codpersvinculados1093595
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadCarga SIPA;09-01-2024
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