MM1 - Reversal Learning

Learning is a fundamental ability present across species—from insects to humans—that allows individuals to adapt and respond to fluctuating environments. Researchers in fields such as behavioral ecology, biology, zoology, and psychology have developed methods and theories to understand learning within the species they study, but the typically isolated manner of this work has limited valid comparisons across species. To begin to unravel the mysteries of learning and its evolutionary origins, ManyManys 1 (MM1) will develop and implement an innovative task to measure, describe, and compare reversal learning abilities across animal taxa. While reversal learning has been investigated in numerous species, each study has typically focused on one at a time. ManyManys 1 will collect data from a wide range of taxa in a single study.