Keywords
Producer-Scrounger Game
Rate Maximization Model
Information Gain
Humans
How to Cite
Abstract
In social foraging situations some organisms tend to search their own resources (producer), while others tend to steal and/or join previously discovered food sources (scrounger). Information gain is a factor that allows for efficient identification of sources of food and other organisms. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of information gain on the proportion of producer responses using the experimental Guaymas Foraging Task. The task involved searching for and harvesting food in a virtual habitat (videogame), where participants could control a virtual character's movement. Four conditions were manipulated, varying the camera angle and distance. The results show that the producer index was higher in conditions where the camera distance was far. This finding implies that an increase in the overview of the search areas allows the participant to adjust more quickly to contingencies, increasing the proportion of producer responses. On the other hand, the rate maximization model is capable of predicting changes independently of the information gain. However, integrating individual factors into the model could enhance its quantitative predictions.
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