Sex differences in social reinstatement motivation of the domestic chick (Gallus gallus) revealed by runway tests with social and nonsocial reinforcement

Male and female chicks (Gallus gallus) were trained at 4 days old to run along a corridor to reach a goal box that contained either cagemates (social reinforcement) or food (nonsocial reinforcement). Females ran faster when social reinforcement was used, whereas males ran faster with nonsocial reinforcement. When social reinforcement was used with a V-shaped runway, in which chicks had to proceed toward the goal object in an indirect fashion, sex differences were reversed. The results may be due to stronger social reinstatement tendencies in females than in males: Higher levels of social motivation facilitate behavioral performance when the task is easy (straight runway) and inhibit it when the task is difficult (V-shaped runway).