Dear all,

The next talk in the CEU Cognitive Science seminar series will by given by:

Thomas Bugnyar (Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna)

Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2013, 5 PM

Location: Cognitive Development Center, Hattyú u. 14, 3rd floor

Title: ‘Raven Politics’ – Understanding and use of social relations

Complex social life has been proposed as one of the driving forces for the evolution of cognition. Aside a large group size and a high degree of fission-fusion dynamics, the formation and use of valuable relationships (social bonds) have been discussed as the main factors constituting social complexity in mammals. Yet it is debated, if this is also true for birds. Reporting on recent data from captive and wild ravens Corvus corax, I argue that i) the quality of social relationships of these birds is comparable to that of primates and ii) that the relationship quality between individuals explains various patterns of their advanced conflict management (coalition formation, intervention in fights, post-conflict reconciliation and bystander-affiliation). In addition, I argue that iii) social bonds may be advantageous during foraging but iv) that they may come with the costs of increased aggression by third parties. These findings support the idea that the need for, and use of, bonding partners outside reproduction may be one of the factors driving the cognitive evolution in these large-brained birds.

PLEASE NOTE: Our seminar room has a limited capacity. Please arrive early to ensure you get a seat. The talk will begin promptly at 5.

Cognitive Science Events at CEU: http://cognitivescience.ceu.hu/events

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