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Information seeking by orangutans: a generalized search strategy?
Heidi L Marsh1, Suzanne E MacDonald
1Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Animal Cognition
|September 16, 2011
Summary
Orangutans demonstrate metacognition by seeking information adaptively based on their knowledge states. This study differentiates true metacognition from generalized search strategies in animal behavior.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Ethology
- Animal Cognition
- Primate Behavior
Background:
- Some non-human primates may possess awareness of their knowledge states.
- Information-seeking behavior in uncertain situations is a proposed indicator of metacognition.
- Alternative explanations, such as generalized search strategies, need to be ruled out.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether orangutans exhibit metacognitive behavior.
- To differentiate between metacognition and generalized search strategies in information-seeking tasks.
- To determine if orangutans adaptively seek information based on their knowledge states.
Main Methods:
- Orangutans were tested in three conditions involving a hidden food item.
- Conditions varied whether the food's location was known or required visual search.
- Behavior was analyzed to assess information-seeking and successful retrieval.
Main Results:
- Orangutan subjects displayed metacognitive behavior in at least two of the three conditions.
- In two conditions, subjects successfully located the food using inference by exclusion without visual confirmation.
- Subjects refrained from seeking information when it was not needed.
Conclusions:
- Orangutan behavior supports a metacognitive interpretation, not a generalized search strategy.
- Orangutans adaptively seek information contingent on their current knowledge states.
- This study provides evidence for sophisticated cognitive abilities in orangutans.
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