We are interested in exploring the causes and consequences of individual variation in cognitive traits. After extensive work on this topic on birds, we are shifting our attention to insects, which have many advantages as study species. Work by Masters student Jonathan Albers tested the learning styles hypothesis, in which an animal’s personality, as revealed by its aggressiveness or propensity to explore its environment, is predicted to be related to its learning speed in different contexts. Although we found that latency to explore a novel environment was a repeatable personality trait, our results were not consistent with the learning styles hypothesis. We have also collaborated on a project that found limited evidence for aversive learning in crickets. Our latest work focuses on whether experience can affect behavior in other contexts: in our version of a judgement bias assay, we have been examining whether experience winning or losing a contest affects exploration behavior. We plan to continue this work by looking at integration of multiple experiences, and examining additional contexts such as mate attraction calling and effects of environmental noise.
Relevant Publications:
Reichert Lab 