Editing Cetacean intelligence (section)

===Creative behavior===
[[File:IndyZoo-DolphinsBlowBubbles.jpg|right|thumb|A pair of bottlenose dolphins responding to a trainer with squawking behavior]]
Aside from having exhibited the ability to learn complex tricks, dolphins have also demonstrated the ability to produce creative responses. This was studied by [[Karen Pryor]] during the mid-1960s at [[Sea Life Park]] in Hawaii, and was published as ''The Creative Porpoise: Training for Novel Behavior'' in 1969. The two test subjects were two [[rough-toothed dolphin]]s (''Steno bredanensis''), named Malia (a regular show performer at Sea Life Park) and Hou (a research subject at adjacent Oceanic Institute). The experiment tested when and whether the dolphins would identify that they were being rewarded (with fish) for originality in behavior and was very successful. However, since only two dolphins were involved in the experiment, the study is difficult to generalize.

Starting with the dolphin named Malia, the method of the experiment was to choose a particular behavior exhibited by her each day and reward each display of that behavior throughout the day's session. At the start of each new day Malia would present the prior day's behavior, but only when a new behavior was exhibited was a reward given. All behaviors exhibited were, at least for a time, known behaviors of dolphins. After approximately two weeks Malia apparently exhausted "normal" behaviors and began to repeat performances. This was not rewarded.<ref name="Wild" />

According to Pryor, the dolphin became almost despondent. However, at the sixteenth session without novel behavior, the researchers were presented with a flip they had never seen before. This was reinforced.<ref name="Wild" /> As related by Pryor, after the new display: "instead of offering that again she offered a tail swipe we'd never seen; we reinforced that. She began offering us all kinds of behavior that we hadn't seen in such a mad flurry that finally we could hardly choose what to throw fish at".<ref name="Wild" />

The second test subject, Hou, took thirty-three sessions to reach the same stage. On each occasion the experiment was stopped when the variability of dolphin behavior became too complex to make further positive reinforcement meaningful.

The same experiment was repeated with humans, and it took the volunteers about the same length of time to figure out what was being asked of them. After an initial period of frustration or anger, the humans realised they were being rewarded for novel behavior. In dolphins this realisation produced excitement and more and more novel behaviors{{spaced ndash}}in humans it mostly just produced relief.<ref name="guardian">{{Cite news |last=de Rohan |first=Anuschka |date=3 July 2003 |title=Deep thinkers |publisher=[[Guardian Unlimited]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/life/feature/story/0,13026,989714,00.html |access-date=2006-10-24}}</ref>

Captive orcas have displayed responses indicating they get bored with activities. For instance, when [[Paul Spong]] worked with the orca Skana, he researched her visual skills. However, after performing favorably in the 72 trials per day, Skana suddenly began consistently getting every answer wrong. Spong concluded that a few fish were not enough motivation. He began playing music, which seemed to provide Skana with much more motivation.<ref name=Colby122–127>{{cite book |last1=Colby |first1=Jason M. |title=Orca: how we came to know and love the ocean's greatest predator |year=2018  |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780190673116 |pages=122–127}}</ref>

At the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Mississippi, it has also been observed that the resident dolphins seem to show an awareness of the future. The dolphins are trained to keep their own tank clean by retrieving rubbish and bringing it to a keeper, to be rewarded with a fish. However, one dolphin, named Kelly, has apparently learned a way to get more fish, by hoarding the rubbish under a rock at the bottom of the pool and bringing it up one small piece at a time.<ref name="guardian" />