The role of temporal information in causal inference in non-human animals

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24730627
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Experimental psychology
• Research Institution: Senshu University
• Principal Investigator: SAWA Kosuke 専修大学, 人間科学部, 教授 (60407682)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 因果推論 / 時間学習 / 古典的条件づけ / 連合学習 / sense of agency

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this series of experiments, we explored the role of temporal relationship among events on causal inference in non-human animals. Because the cause have to happen prior to the effect, temporal information is critical for detecting causal relationship among events. This leads the prediction that even non-human animals would detect the causal relationship if one event proceeds the other, but that two events occurred at the same time is not sufficient for detecting causality. The results of experiments confirm this prediction and suggested that non-human animals use temporal information for causal inference. Additionally, the results suggested the possibility that even rats experienced "sense of agency", where rats had some sense of that "the cause of the events is my own responding".

Free Research Field

学習心理学