Have you ever wondered how much birds look up to their mothers as a source of learning? New research by Samantha Carouso-Peck and Michael Goldstein (2019) suggests that zebra finches imitate their mothers in their singing behaviour.
Perhaps we can understand this by considering the mediational processes of social learning theory. These little zebra finches pay attention to their mother’s singing. They retain that information, are able to reproduce it and are motivated to do so. The motivation element is particularly interesting — Carouso-Peck and Goldstein suggest that the finches are motivated by their mother’s reactions. If the mother ‘appears impressed’ (for example she rewards the behaviour with visual feedback), they sing that tune again. However, if the mother shows no response, the young finch steers clear of that melody in future.
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