Here I am, why don't you answer me? Sensitivity to social responsiveness in domestic chicks

Newborn domestic chicks shortly exposed to a conspecific learn to recognize and prefer it over unfamiliar individuals. We assessed whether lack of physical contact or social feedback during familiarization affects affiliative preference, hypothesizing a crucial role of social responsiveness. Four-day-old chicks were tested for their preference between a familiar and an unfamiliar chick. In Exp. 1, we replicated the well-known preference for the familiar individual, even when (Exp. 2) a transparent glass prevented haptic interaction during familiarization. No preference was scored in Exp. 3, using a one-way glass, i.e., the subject could never be seen by its cagemate. The development of preferences toward a familiar but socially unresponsive cagemate was assessed by testing chicks twice (Exp. 4). While behaving at chance on day 2, birds showed a preference for the unfamiliar individual on day 4 of life. Our results highlight the importance of social interaction already in the first stages of life, irrespective of familiarity.

Automated summary

Newborn domestic chicks quickly learn to recognize and prefer familiar individuals. We conducted experiments to examine if lack of physical contact or social feedback during familiarization would affect affiliative preference, and hypothesized the importance of social responsiveness. The results showed that despite the absence of haptic interaction or being seen by its cagemate, chicks still preferred the familiar individual. However, when the familiar individual was socially unresponsive, chicks developed a preference for the unfamiliar individual. These findings emphasize the significance of social interaction in the early stages of life, regardless of familiarity.