ArticleAnimal cognition2023
Fear of the new? Geckos hesitate to attack novel prey, feed near objects and enter a novel space.
Article in Animal cognition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Global meta-analysis reveals urban-associated behavioural differences among wild populations.The Journal of animal ecology · 2026Pooled it
- A neuro-behavioural model of neophobia.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2026Review
- Changes in housing and diet combined increase fecal oxyurid load in captive tokay geckos.PeerJ · 2026Article
- Environmental enrichment influences the relationship between lateralization and neophobia in zebrafish larvae.Animal cognition · 2025Article
- Does the Post-Natal Social Environment Influence Cognitive Development in a Social Gecko?Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Tokay geckos adjust their behaviour based on handler familiarity but according to context.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Serological Distribution ofLife (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Tourism influences escape behavior of lizards in relationship with human clothing color.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Reaction to Novel Objects and Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Levels in Two Species of Nocturnal Geckos.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Ravens (Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral EcologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Neophobia, the fear of novelty, is an ecologically important response which enables animals to avoid potentially harmful situations. Neophobia is a cognitive process by which individuals distinguish novelty from familiarity. In this study, we aimed to quantify this cognitive process in captive tokay geckos (Gekko gecko) across three contexts: when encountering novel prey, foraging near novel objects and entering a novel space. We also investigated individual consistency across trials using different novel stimuli, and correlation of individual responses across the three contexts. We found that geckos hesitate to attack novel prey and prey close to objects (familiar and novel). Geckos hesitated the most when entering novel space. Repeatability of behaviour within and across contexts was low (R = 0.101-0.190) indicating that neophobia might not be expressed similarly across contexts. The strength of a neophobic response can indicate how anxious or curious an individual is. This test has great potential to help answer questions about how captivity, enrichment, rearing environment and cognition affect fear responses in different contexts in lizards. By studying reptiles, we can better understand the universality of what is known about the causes leading to difference in neophobia across individuals and species.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.