Complexity and Colour Preferences in Chicks of Different Ages

Abstract

Five- and six-day old chicks were found to prefer a complex stimulus to a simple one, whilst 2-day old ones showed no such preference; but a red stimulus, whether simple or complex, tended to be preferred at both age levels when it was paired with a non-coloured complex stimulus. Preference for complexity may be usefully viewed in any species in the context of the behavioural development of the individual.