Differences in affiliative behavior of weanling rats selecting eating and drinking sites

In 3 experiments with Long-Evans rats, the presence of an adult at a feeding site profoundly influenced a conspecific weanling's probability of eating there. Presence of an adult at a drinking site did not have a comparable effect. This indicates that the influence of adult presence at a feeding site on pup feeding site selection, reported in previous studies, is not simply an epiphenomenon reflecting a general affiliative tendency of rat pups. Rather, social affiliation appears to be a factor of special importance in the feeding site selection of young rats.