# Social Interactions Are Related to Cognitive Development in Western Australian Magpie Fledglings

## TL;DR

Western Australian magpies that have more social interactions during development perform better in learning tasks as juveniles.

## Contribution

This study introduces individual-based social network measures to show how specific social interactions influence cognitive development in magpies.

## Key findings

- Magpies in larger groups solved learning tasks faster at 300 days post-fledging.
- Magpies responding to more vocalizations and receiving aggression performed better in learning tasks.
- Social network measures reveal cognitive development links to specific social connections.

## Abstract

Social interactions during development can have a significant and lasting impact on adult phenotypes and fitness. Indeed, a growing body of evidence suggests the early social environment plays an important role in cognitive development. However, existing studies largely focus on the impact of social group size, which does not necessarily capture all the cognitive demands associated with group living. Social network analysis can provide detailed insight into variation in social interactions between group members, and thus the information‐processing challenges associated with group living at the individual level. Here, we explore whether social interactions during development are related to cognitive performance in juvenile Western Australian magpies (
Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis
). Specifically, we investigated the relationship between social network measures of connectedness (physical proximity, play, agonistic and vocal interactions) and individual cognitive performance, tested at three developmentally sensitive time points during the first year of life. We found that social measures were related to cognitive performance: individuals in larger groups solve an associative learning task in fewer trials at 300 days post‐fledging. Additionally, individuals that responded to vocalisations from more conspecifics and those that received aggressive interactions from more conspecifics perform better at an associative learning task at 300 days post‐fledging. Our study highlights the value of considering individual‐based social network measures, which capture the differences in specific social connections between individuals within groups, when investigating the relationship between the social environment and cognitive development.

The early social environment can play a pivotal role in an individual's ability to learn, solve problems and make decisions. We find that multiple elements of an individual's social upbringing influence their ability to learn.