Cognitive bias and affective state

Emma J. Harding, Elizabeth S. Paul and Michael Mendl ()
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Emma J. Harding: Centre for Behavioural Biology, University of Bristol
Elizabeth S. Paul: Centre for Behavioural Biology, University of Bristol
Michael Mendl: Centre for Behavioural Biology, University of Bristol

Nature, 2004, vol. 427, issue 6972, 312-312

Abstract: Abstract Information processing by humans can be biased by their emotions — for example, anxious and depressed people tend to make negative judgements about events and to interpret ambiguous stimuli unfavourably1,2,3,4. Here we show that such a 'pessimistic' response bias can also be measured in rats that are housed in unpredictable conditions5,6. Our findings indicate that cognitive bias can be used as an indicator of affective state in animals, which should facilitate progress in animal-welfare studies.

Date: 2004
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DOI: 10.1038/427312a

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