8 years ago
3
Fish learn fear from their role models
Study is first to experimentally show that environment influences the social transmission of fear
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http://news.sciencemag.org
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Wasn't there also that study with the monkeys and a water sprayer? They had one banana on top of a ladder and every time one would reach for it the whole group got sprayed with cold water. When new ones were introduced they reached for the banana and got attacked by the others, so they didn't do it anymore. Over time they exchanged all of them with new ones until no one in the cage knew anymore why they may not touch the banana.
This sounds kinda the same because they make the fish fear the smells without them knowing why, they just accept the role model's behaviour as norm.
To be honest I had not heard of this experiment before you mentioned it. After looking around on the web, it seems like it was a thought experiment. But yes, from your description and the couple of pages I skimmed, I think the point that it illustrates is still valid and directly relates to the fish experiment. Thanks for posting that, I learned something!
Well, at least I got some aspects of it right. Thanks for correcting it. I read and absorb things all day, perhaps I should put some more thought into what I'm parroting, or at least look it up one more time beforehand.