Effects of early-life stress on avian social learning strategies

The use of information provided by others is a common shortcut adopted to inform decision-making. However, instead of indiscriminately copying others, animals are often selective in what, when and whom they copy. How do they decide which learning strategy to use? My research suggests that stress hormone exposure early in life may be important. While developmental stress is often thought to hamper cognitive performance, I will argue that ecologically relevant levels of early-life stress may instead determine how individuals balance the use of different sources of information. Furthermore, early-life stress can also change individuals’ interactions with group members, which in turn can affect access to information sources and subsequent information use. I will argue that an information use approach may lead to different insights concerning individuals’ cognitive performance than one in which they are ranked based on their perceived 'intelligence'. 

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