The results of this scientific work were published in the journal Frontiers of Ecological Evolution, a group of scientists from Israel found that moderate optimism in decision making helps animals live longer and generally better. Read more about this in the material.DiscussThe experts created a computer simulation. In it, the foraging animal, which had some knowledge of food quality in general and travel times to new food sources, had to make nutritional decisions. He had to choose: stay on the current site or move to a new one that has not yet been explored. Scientists have found that the transition to new territories and a positive attitude towards the unknown often led animals to a better life.
When In this, the researchers add, in simulations and in reality, starvation usually causes wild animal deaths. But from the point of view of the decision-making strategy, it is not the absolute optimists and pessimists who win, but the moderate ones (they have better health, higher life expectancy and reproduction rate). As a rule, those individuals who used either extremely optimistic or extremely pessimistic strategies died at a young age.
Source: Phys.org