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Control and Complexity in Novel Object Enrichment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

T D Sambrook  and
H M Buchanan-Smith
T D Sambrook*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Durham, 43 Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HN, UK
H M Buchanan-Smith
Affiliation:
Scottish Primate Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4L A, UK
*
† Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints
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Abstract

We discuss the properties of controllability and complexity in novel object enrichment, their definition and present a critique of previous work related to them. We address the relationship between control and complexity, the evolutionary basis of their attractiveness and suggest that the acquisition of control may be a more enriching process than its execution. We propose that, although little work has been directed at separating their relative contributions to enrichment, controllability appears more important than complexity. We discuss the ways in which objects can be responsive both in terms of the predictability of the response and the ‘grade’ of actor-object interaction.

Keywords

animal welfarecontrolcomplexityenrichmentnovel objectresponsive

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , August 1997 , pp. 207 - 216
Copyright
© 1997 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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