The hierarchy of food, sociality, and experience in spatial decision-making by food-deprived rats.

•Rats with different spatial knowledge regarding food location were tested together.•Food availability was the prime factor in shaping spatial decisions.•This primacy was further augmented by socializing with the other rat.•Dyad partners displayed a greater tendency to visit baited locations together.•Rats’ familiarity with past locations was least influential in foraging decisions.