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Related Experiment Videos

Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) immediately generalize the uncertain response.

David A Washburn1, J David Smith, Wendy E Shields

  • 1Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, 30303, USA. dwashhburn@gsu.edu

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes
|April 26, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Rhesus monkeys demonstrate metacognition by adaptively using an uncertain response when unsure. This indicates nonhuman primates, like humans, possess the ability to recognize their own knowledge gaps.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Primate Behavior
  • Comparative Psychology

Background:

  • Humans exhibit metacognition, the ability to monitor one's own cognitive states.
  • Previous research suggests nonhuman primates may possess similar metacognitive abilities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if rhesus monkeys can generalize the use of an uncertain response to novel situations.
  • To determine if monkeys can recognize and signal their uncertainty in cognitive tasks.

Main Methods:

  • Four rhesus monkeys were trained to use an uncertain response.
  • The uncertain response was then tested in familiar tasks (discrimination learning, mirror-image matching) designed to create predictable uncertainty.
  • Behavior was analyzed to assess the adaptive use of the uncertain response.

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Main Results:

  • Rhesus monkeys generalized the use of the uncertain response to new tasks without further training.
  • Monkeys significantly reduced the use of the uncertain response when the correct answer was likely known.
  • This demonstrates adaptive regulation of behavior based on perceived knowledge.

Conclusions:

  • Rhesus monkeys possess metacognitive abilities, including knowing when they don't know.
  • Nonhuman primates can learn to use a generalized symbol to indicate uncertainty.
  • These findings support the presence of shared metacognitive mechanisms across human and nonhuman primates.