The Difference between Signal and Cue
Abstract
In the behavioral sciences, there is some confusion regarding the meaning of the terms signal and cue and some authors use it interchangeably. Among animal trainers, there seems to be no consensus at all, the terms being used at the authors’ discretion without further explantations. We review the general consensus in the behavior sciences and improve the definitions so they are compatible with Darwinian evolution theory. Conclusion: A signal is everything that intentionally changes or maintains the behavior of the receiver. A cue is everything that unintentionally changes or maintains the behavior of the receiver.
References
[2] Maynard Smith, J. and Harper, D. (1995). Animal signals: Models and terminology. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 177: 305-311.
[3] Saleh, N et al. (2007) Distinguishing signals and cues: bumblebees use general footprints to generate adaptive behaviour at flowers and nest. Arthropod- Plant Interactions, 2007, 1:119–127.
[4] Schaefer, H. M. and Braun, J. (2009). Reliable cues and signals of fruit quality are contingent on the habitat in black elder (Sambucus nigra). Ecology, 90(6), 2009, pp. 1564–1573.
[5] Maynard Smith, J. and Harper, D. (2003). Animal signals. Oxford University Press, UK.
[6] Dawkins, M. S., and Guilford, T. (1991). The corruption of honest signalling. Animal Behaviour, 41:865–873.
[7] Bates, H. W. (1861). Contributions to an Insect Fauna of the Amazon Valley: Lepidoptera: Heliconidae. London: William Schaus.
[8] McFarland, D. (1999). Animal Behaviour. Pearson Education Limited, UK.
[9] Hauser, M. D. and Konishi, M., eds. (1999). The Design of Animal Communication. Cambridge: Bradford/MIT Press.
[10] Tinbergen, N. (1952). The curious behavior of the stickleback. Scientific American, December 1952.
[11] Zahavi, A. (1975). Mate selection: a selection for a handicap. Journal of Theoretical Biology 53:204–214.
[12] Otte, D. (1974). Effects and functions in the evolution of signaling systems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 5:385–417.
[13] Hasson, O. (1997). Towards a general theory of biological signaling. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 185: 139-156.
[14] Searcy, W. A., and S. Nowicki (2005). The Evolution of Animal Communication. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
© Copyright by Ethology Journal Online and the authors. Third-parties may not redistribute the material in this journal in any form. The fair use (as is the U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index) of an article, i.e., quoting for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching or research, is not an infringement of copyright.
