Outline for social learning of food selection in rats

Abstract

This paper reviews studies that investigated social learning of food preferences and aversions in rats. Many studies have found that rats can learn about food preferences by social processes. Rats exposed to a conspecific that had eaten a certain food increase their preferences for that food. On the other hand, the findings about social learning of food aversions are equivocal. Although poisoned conspecifics may function as unconditioned stimuli in food aversion learning, a few studies suggested that rats can socially transmit learned food aversions only under limited conditions. Finally, it is argued that researches of communication in ethology can complement those of social learning in psychology.