Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

How great apes perform on a modified trap-tube task.

Nicholas J Mulcahy1, Josep Call

  • 1Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. mulcahy@eva.mpg.de

Animal Cognition
|April 14, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Great apes demonstrated causal understanding in a modified trap tube task by preferring to rake rewards. Their success in avoiding traps depended on tool-use flexibility, suggesting cognitive flexibility influences problem-solving abilities.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

EVApeCognition: An 18-Year Dataset of Great Ape Cognition.

Scientific data·2026
Same author

Animal cumulative culture through changing environments.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026
Same author

Orangutans and chimpanzees show evidence of inferring when a hidden breadstick is intact or broken.

Scientific reports·2026
Same author

Local specialists' experience and skills in animal behaviour studies: insights from wild chimpanzee field assistants.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

Behavioural manifestations of human-directed social motivation in dogs.

Scientific reports·2026
Same author

Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2025

Area of Science:

  • Primate cognition
  • Animal behavior
  • Comparative psychology

Background:

  • The trap tube task assesses causal reasoning in animals.
  • Previous studies found limited evidence of causal knowledge in primates and birds.
  • Task limitations, like restricted tool-use actions, may have masked existing knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate causal knowledge in great apes using a modified trap tube task.
  • To explore the impact of tool-use flexibility on problem-solving.
  • To determine if great apes understand the trap mechanism.

Main Methods:

  • Presented five orangutans, two chimpanzees, two bonobos, and one gorilla with a modified trap tube.
  • Allowed subjects to either push or rake the reward.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Conducted follow-up tests with an inverted (non-functional trap) tube and the original task.

    • Main Results:

    • Most subjects (all but one) preferred raking the reward over pushing.
    • Subjects who preferred raking avoided the functional trap but failed the original task.
    • Some great apes demonstrated an understanding of the trap's functionality.

    Conclusions:

    • Great apes possess some causal knowledge regarding the trap tube task.
    • The ability to choose tool-use actions (raking vs. pushing) is crucial for demonstrating this knowledge.
    • Cognitive flexibility in tool use may be a key factor in problem-solving success.