motivation

what is motivation?

-”the process within the brain controlling which behaviors & physiological changes occur, & when”

-important when using behavior as an indicator of welfare

-discussed alongside stereotypical behaviors

-understanding motivation → manage animals effectively, safely, & efficiently

casual factor

-input to decision making center (brain)

-wide variety of external & internal states

-requires interpretation after previous experience

examples of external & internal states

-environmental stimuli

-social situation

-internal factors

example of casual factor

sows → levels & particular combos of hormones make them highly motivated to nest-build

motivational state

a combination of the levels of all casual factors

decision-making

-brain monitors casual factor & based on prev. exp → then can make decision

-levels of cas. factors can vary 

-cas. factors may be related or compete with one another → high thirst will also mean they’re probably hungry 

appetitive vs consummatory behavior

-appetitive → searching for the suitable external stimuli

-consummatory → encountering stimuli & utilizing it

-searching for food & then eating

motivation & behavior

-complicated relationship

-may have tendency to do smth due to combo of factors → resulting behavior may not be a direct connection

motivation & behavior example

-animal may have several casual factors resulting in motivation to feed (like hormones, visibility of prey, offspring to feed)

-but due to some other long-term strategy it may not (like waiting until dusk to hunt)

motivation reminders

-not a reflex, learned behavior, or a result of developmental process

-is a mechanistic explanation for why an animal is performing that particular behavior pattern

measuring motivation

-many cas facts can not be measured directly → “hunger”

-can measure physiological factors

-relies on experimentation & manipulation of state

-amount of activity

-patterns associated w performance

why would you measure the persistence of an animal in the face of aversive stimuli?

-prevent performance of a behavior

-how much is that animal willing to persist before giving up

-measure motivation to eat/drink by tainting with an unpleasant flavor

-can put obstacle in path of animal

what are some physiological factors that are associated with motivation?

-blood glucose

-brainwaves → perform MRI

what is elasticity of behavior?

-concept that examines how likely a behavior is to occur in the face of increasing “cost”

-how important that behavior is

-how motivated they are to perform those behaviors

elastic behavior

small increases in cost will cause large decreases in performance of the behavior

inelastic behavior

the cost is essentially irrelevant & performance will continue regardless of cost

highly motivated behavior example: dust bathing in chickens

-purpose → remove excess oil, make feathers less habitable for parasites, maintain healthy plumage

-clear, regular pattern → once every 2 days

-clear rebound behavior

-will perform even if stimulus is absent

rebound behavior

a behavior that occurs at an increased rate or frequency after a period of being unable to perform

when substrate is not present, chickens will explore more often … (dust bathing)

some suggest that this means chickens are motivated to perform the behavior in the absence of the cue

what external cues motivate chickens to perform dust bathing?

-light

-heat

-other chickens dust bathing

how many theories were developed after complicated models were proposed as to how the motivation to perform this behavior works?

two

what is theory 1?

internal casual factors continuously build up until an external casual factor tips them over the edge

what is theory 2?

absence of external factors reduces motivation and presence of cues increases motivation

what happens if a highly motivated behavior is prevented?

-inappropriate/abnormal behaviors can occur

-including stereotypies

stereotypic behavior

a repetitive, unchanging behavior pattern that has no function or obvious goal

what does a stereotypic behavior often resemble?

the behavior that is either lacking, or what would need to be done in order to perform the behavior, but will not actually achieve either of those ends, & is therefor “functionless”

what are stereotypic behaviors seen as?

“bad” behaviors

“cribbing” or “crib-biting” stereotypic behavior

-can harm horse’s teeth, is annoying, associated with colic (sometimes)

-associated with feeding & husbandry 

-not seen in wild horses

-devices to prevent 

what are stereotypic behaviors associated with?

-a way to cope with stressful circumstances

-preventing them from performing stereotypies can result in worse welfare