Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

The Availability Heuristic

The Availability Heuristic

A heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). You can think of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, and the impulse to use a heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Targeting expression to megakaryocytes and platelets by lineage-specific lentiviral vectors.

Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH·2016

Same author

Anxiety modulates cognitive deficits in a perinatal glutathione deficit animal model of schizophrenia.

Brain research·2016

Same author

Developpement de la locomotion chez le mulot sylvestre (Apodemus sylvaticus L.).

Behavioural processes·2014

Same author

Behavioural brain research in natural and semi-natural settings.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2011

Same author

Do computers teach better? A media comparison study for case-based teaching in radiology.

Radiographics : a review publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc·2001

Same author

A behavioral study of alpha-1b adrenergic receptor knockout mice: increased reaction to novelty and selectively reduced learning capacities.

Neurobiology of learning and memory·2001

Same journal

Behavioral and physiological changes during the estrous cycle of socially housed female guinea pigs.

Behavioural processes·2026

Same journal

Flexible time-series analysis: A dynamically aware method for inferring directed dependencies in behavioral data.

Behavioural processes·2026

Same journal

Effects of group size and landmarks on escape behavior of three fish species.

Behavioural processes·2026

Same journal

Vocal individuality in two sympatric seabird species: The role of developmental strategy, analytical approach and sample size.

Behavioural processes·2026

Same journal

No evidence of sex-specific responses to chemosensory risk assessment cues in Harts rivulus.

Behavioural processes·2026

Same journal

Exploratory responses of rats to cage-mates and conspecifics from another cage in a habituation-dishabituation paradigm with multiple habituation stimuli.

Behavioural processes·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 28, 2026

High-throughput Fluorometric Measurement of Potential Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities

High-throughput Fluorometric Measurement of Potential Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities

Published on: November 15, 2013

[Not Available].

¹Institut de Physiologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Lausanne, Bugnon 7, 1011 Lausanne (Suisse), Switzerland.

Behavioural Processes

|June 5, 2014

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Novel environments initially decrease wheel-running activity in wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus L.). Both sexes adapt over time, with females showing a stronger initial reaction to environmental novelty.

More Related Videos

Ex Vivo Assessment of Contractility, Fatigability and Alternans in Isolated Skeletal Muscles

Ex Vivo Assessment of Contractility, Fatigability and Alternans in Isolated Skeletal Muscles

Published on: November 1, 2012

A Submerged Filter Paper Sandwich for Long-term Ex Ovo Time-lapse Imaging of Early Chick Embryos

A Submerged Filter Paper Sandwich for Long-term Ex Ovo Time-lapse Imaging of Early Chick Embryos

Published on: December 28, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 28, 2026

High-throughput Fluorometric Measurement of Potential Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities

High-throughput Fluorometric Measurement of Potential Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities

Published on: November 15, 2013

Ex Vivo Assessment of Contractility, Fatigability and Alternans in Isolated Skeletal Muscles

Ex Vivo Assessment of Contractility, Fatigability and Alternans in Isolated Skeletal Muscles

Published on: November 1, 2012

A Submerged Filter Paper Sandwich for Long-term Ex Ovo Time-lapse Imaging of Early Chick Embryos

A Submerged Filter Paper Sandwich for Long-term Ex Ovo Time-lapse Imaging of Early Chick Embryos

Published on: December 28, 2016

Area of Science:

Animal behavior
Rodent ethology
Activity monitoring

Context:

Wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus L.) are common European rodents.
Understanding their behavioral responses to environmental changes is crucial for ecological studies.
Automated monitoring provides objective data on activity patterns.

Purpose:

To investigate the impact of environmental novelty on the activity patterns of wood mice.
To compare the behavioral responses of male and female wood mice to new environments.
To assess the duration of adaptation to novel conditions and the effect of cage cleaning.

Summary:

Adult male and female wood mice were housed in actographs to record activity (nesting, eating, drinking, locomotion, wheel-running).
Immediate reactions to novel environments showed higher locomotor activity and wheel-running in males. Activity patterns shifted, with increased enclosure activity and decreased wheel-running initially, especially in females.
Adaptation occurred within days, with increased wheel-running compared to home cages. Returning to the home cage reduced wheel-running, particularly in females. Environmental changes like increased space or cage cleaning temporarily altered activity.

Impact:

Novelty temporarily suppresses wheel-running and increases general locomotor activity in wood mice.
Females exhibit a more pronounced initial behavioral adjustment to novelty than males.
These findings highlight the sensitivity of rodent behavior to environmental stimuli and the importance of habituation periods in research settings.