Demonstrator influence on observer diet preference: Effects of simple exposure and the presence of a demonstrator

Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that a naive rat (an observer), after interacting briefly with a previously fed conspecific (a demonstrator), will exhibit an enhanced preference for the diet its demonstrator had been fed. The present studies were undertaken to determine whether demonstrator-induced alterations in observer diet preference were the result of simple exposure of observers to diet-identifying cues emitted by …