Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026
08:42
Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device (ALDM) Test Systems
Published on: May 5, 2015
Monkeys represent others' knowledge but not their beliefs
Drew C W Marticorena1, April M Ruiz, Cora Mukerji
1Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Developmental Science
|October 21, 2011
Summary
Rhesus macaques understand ignorance but not false beliefs, unlike human infants. This suggests belief-understanding may be a unique human cognitive ability, offering insights into primate cognition.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Primate Behavior
- Evolutionary Psychology
Background:
- Understanding false beliefs is key to social cognition, but its evolutionary origins are unclear.
- Previous research focused on developmental aspects in humans, leaving evolutionary roots less explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether rhesus macaques possess false belief understanding.
- To explore the evolutionary origins of belief-attribution in non-human primates.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a looking-time measure, adapted from studies with human infants.
- Presented rhesus macaques with scenarios involving human experimenters' knowledge and false beliefs.
Main Results:
- Macaques looked longer when an experimenter lacked accurate knowledge, similar to human infants.
- Macaques did not predict actions based on an experimenter's false belief.
- Results indicate macaques represent knowledge/ignorance, but not beliefs.
Conclusions:
- Rhesus macaques demonstrate an understanding of others' knowledge states but not their beliefs.
- The capacity for false belief understanding may be a distinctive feature of human cognition.
- This research sheds light on the evolutionary trajectory of social-cognitive abilities.
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