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Updated: Jul 4, 2026
07:13
A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons
Published on: November 9, 2018
Monkeys match and tally quantities across senses
Kerry E Jordan1, Evan L Maclean, Elizabeth M Brannon
1Department of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA. kerry.jordan@usu.edu
Cognition
|June 24, 2008
Summary
Monkeys can match and sum numbers across different senses, like sounds and sights. This suggests a shared abstract numerical understanding between monkeys and humans.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Comparative psychology
- Primate behavior
Background:
- Numerical cognition is a key area of research in understanding cognitive abilities.
- Previous studies have explored numerical abilities in various species, but cross-modal numerical processing in non-human primates remains less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether monkeys can numerically match stimuli across different sensory modalities (audio-visual and visual-visual).
- To determine if monkeys can sum numerical quantities presented through different sensory inputs (sounds and shapes).
- To explore the abstract nature of numerical representation in monkeys.
Main Methods:
- Two capuchin monkeys were trained on tasks involving matching numerical arrays to sample stimuli.
- Experiment 1: Monkeys matched visual arrays to sample sequences of shapes or sounds.
- Experiment 2: Monkeys summed numerical quantities from combined auditory and visual sample sequences.
Main Results:
- Monkeys demonstrated accurate numerical matching across audio-visual and visual-visual modalities.
- Monkeys successfully summed quantities from combined auditory and visual stimuli.
- Performance was influenced by the ratio between correct and incorrect numerical choices, indicating ratio-dependent processing.
Conclusions:
- Monkeys possess abstract numerical representations that are not tied to a specific sensory modality.
- These findings provide evidence for shared abstract numerical codes between monkeys and humans.
- The study highlights sophisticated cross-modal numerical abilities in non-human primates.
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