Uncertainty in experts' judgments exposes the vulnerability of research reporting anecdotes on animals' cognitive abilities.

ABSTRACT: Expertise in science, particularly in animal behaviour, may provide people with the capacity to provide better judgments in contrast to lay people. Here we explore whether experts provide a more objective, accurate and coherent evaluation of a recently reported anecdote on Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) "tool use" (recorded on video) which was published in a major scientific journal but was received with some scepticism. We relied on citizen science and developed a questionnaire to measure whether experts in ethology and ornithology and lay people agree or disagree on (1) the description of the actions that they observe (the bird takes a stick in its beak), (2) the possible goal of the action (nest-building or grooming) and (3) the intentional component of the action (the bird took t

SUBMITTER: Sandor K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8355131 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature