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Abstract
Five experiments were conducted with Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) to investigate
how choices in a T-maze were affected by parameters of a social reward (aggression
display to another male): presence or absence, amount, delay and distance traveled.
Bettas showed a preference for the side associated with the presence of another male
rather than the side associated with nothing (Exp 1), a greater length of time of
the reward (Exp 2) and shorter delay (Exp 3). The animals were indifferent when one
side offered a longer delay to a longer reward time compared with a shorter delay
to a shorter reward time (Exp 4). What was most surprising, however, was that fish
preferred to choose the side that was associated with swimming a greater distance
to reach an opponent male (Exp 5). These experiments demonstrate that, while some
parameters of a visual reward affect behavior in predictable ways (greater amount,
shorter delay), the complex motivations underlying inter-male aggression can produce
what appear to be paradoxical results.