Emotion, Pain, & Sentience

Tell-tail fear behaviors in kittens: Identifying the scaredy cat

Identifying when kittens are in fearful emotional states is crucial to protecting welfare, preventing behavioral issues, and ensuring caretaker and researcher assessments are accurate. Research is needed to confirm if kittens have fully developed fear responses similar to those of...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Graham, C., Khalife, S., Pearl, D. et al. 2024. Tell-tail fear behaviors in kittens: Identifying the scaredy cat. Animal Behavior and Cognition 11(4), 361–392.

Living the good life? A systematic review of behavioural signs of affective state in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) and factors relating to quality of life

Quality of life is dependent upon the extent to which behavioural needs are met, and the balance between pleasant and unpleasant lifetime experiences. In Part II of this systematic review, articles (n = 109) relating to horse-human interactions were reviewed...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Handling, Human-Animal Interaction, Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Hall, C., Kay, R. 2024. Living the good life? A systematic review of behavioural signs of affective state in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) and factors relating to quality of life. Part 2: Horse-human interactions. Animal Welfare 33, e41.

Living the good life? A systematic review of behavioural signs of affective state in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) and factors relating to quality of life

The welfare of horses involved in sport and leisure activities has come under increasing scrutiny, both from within the equine sector and from the public. A systematic review of scientific evidence was conducted to derive observable, evidence-based behavioural measures of...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Rearing & Weaning, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Hall, C., Kay, R. 2024. Living the good life? A systematic review of behavioural signs of affective state in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) and factors relating to quality of life. Part I: Fulfilment of species-specific needs. Animal Welfare 33, e40.

Effect of pre-session discrimination training on performance in a judgement bias test in dogs

Spatial judgement bias tests (JBTs) can involve teaching animals that a bowl provides a reward in one location but does not in another. The animal is then presented with the bowl placed between the rewarded and the unrewarded locations (i.e.,...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Krahn, J., Azadian, A., Cavalli, C. et al. 2024. Effect of pre-session discrimination training on performance in a judgement bias test in dogs. Animal Cognition 27(1), 66.

Social contagion of pain and fear results in opposite social behaviors in rodents: Meta- analysis of experimental studies

The study aimed to explore the key factors influencing emotional valence in rodents, focusing on the critical elements that distinguish the contagion processes of fear and pain.MethodsThrough a systematic review and meta-analysis, we examined behavioral outcomes of rodents exposed to...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Du, R., Yu, Y., Wang, X.-L. et al. 2024. Social contagion of pain and fear results in opposite social behaviors in rodents: Meta- analysis of experimental studies. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 18.

Place conditioning as evaluation of affective valence in piglets

The emotional valence of animals is challenging to assess, despite being a key component of welfare. In this study, we attempted to assess emotional valence through memory in 1- and 3-week-old piglets. It was hypothesized that piglets would spend less...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Ede, T., Ibach, S., Parsons, T. D. 2024. Place conditioning as evaluation of affective valence in piglets. Scientific Reports 14(1), 25216.

A consensus on the definition of positive animal welfare

The concept of animal welfare is evolving due to progress in our scientific understanding of animal biology and changing societal expectations. Animal welfare science has been primarily concerned with minimizing suffering, but there is growing interest in also promoting positive...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Rault, J.-L., Bateson, M., Boissy, A. et al. 2025. A consensus on the definition of positive animal welfare. Biology Letters 21(1), 20240382.

The promotion of play behaviour in grow-finish pigs: The relationship between behaviours indicating positive experience and physiological measures

The provision of opportunities to express rewarding behaviours is a promising concept to support a better quality of life for intensively farmed pigs. Play behaviour has been associated with excitement and fun, suggesting that playing animals experience pleasurable states. Pigs...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Steinerová, K., Parker, S. E., Brown, J. A. et al. 2024. The promotion of play behaviour in grow-finish pigs: The relationship between behaviours indicating positive experience and physiological measures. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 275, 106263.

An exploration of the postural, location- and social contact- related sub-characteristics of inactive but awake behaviour as a depression-like indicator in mice

Inactive behaviour is essential to life. However, specific forms of inactivity may be indicative of compromised welfare in certain captive conditions. Inactive but awake behaviour (IBA - spontaneous, motionless awake behaviour without interacting with the surroundings) has been documented in...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Trevarthen, A. C., Resasco, A., Finnegan, E. M. et al. 2024. An exploration of the postural, location- and social contact- related sub-characteristics of inactive but awake behaviour as a depression-like indicator in mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 281, 106431.

Stress produces negative judgement bias in cuttlefish

Judgement bias tasks (JBTs) are used to assess the emotional state and welfare of animals in zoos, farms and laboratories, based on the interpretation of an ambiguous or intermediate cue. Animals in positive affective states are more likely to interpret...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Cephalopod, Invertebrate

Citation: Giancola-Detmering, S. E., Crook, R. J. 2024. Stress produces negative judgement bias in cuttlefish. Biology Letters 20(10), 20240228.