Functions of social learning about food: a causal analysis of effects of diet novelty on preference transmission

Abstract. A naive rat (an observer) that interacts with a recently fed conspecific (a demonstrator) subsequently exhibits a substantially enhanced preference for whatever food its demonstrator ate. In the present series of experiments, it was found that: (1) demonstrator rats that ate foods unfamiliar to their respective observers influenced the food preferences of observers more than did demonstrator rats that ate foods familiar to their …