Open-field behavior of young chicks (Gallus gallus): Antipredatory responses, social reinstatement motivation, and gender effects

Abstract

Two experiments investigating sex differences in the open-field behavior of young chicks are reported. In the first experiment, ambulation latencies of 10-day-old male and female chicks in a novel environment were measured. Half of the chicks were kept in social isolation for 2 days prior to testing; the other half were socially reared until tested. Results showed that in socially reared chicks ambulation latencies were significantly higher in males than in females, whereas in isolation-reared chicks there were no significant sex differences. In the second experiment, latencies of ambulation were measured in socially reared 10-day-old chicks placed in a novel environment with or without a visible predator (i.e., a human being). Sex differences were evident in both conditions, with males showing higher ambulation latencies than females. It is argued that sex differences in open-field behavior of chicks may be due to a stronger motivation for social reinstatement in females, which reduces the usual antipredatory reactions of chicks placed in a novel environment. © 1988 Psychonomic Society, Inc.