Social preference in the guinea pig as a function of social rearing conditions and age at separation from the mother

Abstract

To determine the effects of social rearing conditions and age at separation from the mother upon later social preferences, 120 guinea pigs were divided at birth into two basic groups, communals and isolates. Within the communal conditions, five groups of Ss remained with other guinea pigs throughout the experiment, but the mother was removed when Ss were 0, 4, 8, 16, or 30 days of age. Within the isolate condition, Ss were separated from both the mother and other guinea pigs at 0, 4, 8, 16, or 30 days of age and remained isolated throughout the experiment until testing. At 135 days of age, social preference was tested in a tilt-cage apparatus for 6 consecutive days, 15 min daily. One end of the tilt cage contained another guinea pig, while the other end was empty. Results showed that preference for another guinea pig was reliably greater for the communally reared Ss than for those beginning isolation at any age. The age at separation from the mother had little effect upon social-preference scores for either rearing condition.