contrafreeloading en · NOUN · etymology 1
Etymology
From contra- + freeloading.
Meanings
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(uncountable) A behaviour, where, when given a choice, an individual animal will choose a food source which requires effort to obtain instead of that which requires little to no effort.
There is also a free treat option in the puzzle box, a way for the researchers here to measure something called “contrafreeloading.” This term describes a behavior animals demonstrate when they choose to work for a reward rather than just freeloading from readily available food.
2024 November 22, Stephanie Hanes, Melanie Stetson Freeman, “Moody chickens? Playful bumblebees? Science decodes the rich inner lives of animals.”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
Relateds
freeloading · freeload · freeloader · contrafreeloader · contrafreeload