The theory of warning signals dates back to Wallace but is still confusing, controversial and
complex. Because predator avoidance of warningly coloured prey (aposematism) is based …

Highlights•Researchers use neophobia tests for many purposes, but produce conflicting
results.•Attention to cognitive mechanisms and ecological context reveals testing issues.•We …

Nearly fifty years ago DF Berlyne (1950) wrote Psychology has so far had surprisingly little to
say about stimuli which influence behavior simply because they are new. Stimuli which owe …

Conspicuous warning signals of unprofitable prey are a defense against visually hunting
predators. They work because predators learn to associate unprofitability with bright …

Birds show distinct hesitation when approaching novel food and this has been termed
'neophobia'. In laboratory-held birds like domestic chicks this effect lasts for a matter of a few …

Theoretical models predict that the cumulative number of individuals displaying a socially
learned novel behavior will follow an accelerating pattern over time, whereas asocial …

Models of the evolution of aposematic coloration assume that the first brightly coloured
morphs to appear in a cryptic population of chemically defended insects would have …

Recently there has been debate over the importance of innate avoidance of aposematic
prey by predators, particularly birds. There is evidence that the predators have innate or …

This review identifies four receiver psychology perspectives that are likely to be important in
the design and evolution of warning signals. Three of these perspectives (phobia, learning …

Many warningly coloured prey emit a conspicuous smell of pyrazines when attacked by a
predator and it has been suggested that this odour cue constitutes part of the prey's …