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Do Social Conditions Affect Capuchin Monkeys' (Cebus apella) Choices in a Quantity Judgment Task?
Michael J Beran1, Bonnie M Perdue, Audrey E Parrish
1Language Research Center, Georgia State University Atlanta, GA, USA.
Frontiers in Psychology
|November 28, 2012
Summary
Capuchin monkeys use the average rate of return, not absolute amounts, to make quantity judgments with incomplete information. Social factors and perceived losses did not alter this rational decision-making strategy.
Area of Science:
- Comparative Cognition
- Animal Behavior
- Decision-Making
Background:
- Previous research shows capuchin monkeys and humans perform similarly in quantity judgment tasks with incomplete information.
- Both species rely on past outcomes and the average rate of return to guide choices between known and unknown options.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate factors influencing quantity judgment in capuchin monkeys under incomplete information.
- To test if revealing unchosen options (losses) or social distribution affects decision-making.
- To determine if monkeys use absolute quantities or relative value (average rate of return) for choices.
Main Methods:
- Monkeys performed quantity judgment tasks with incomplete information.
- Manipulations included showing the unchosen quantity (potential loss) and giving it to another monkey (social factor).
- Choices between known and unknown options were analyzed based on the average rate of return.
Main Results:
- Neither revealing the unchosen quantity nor social distribution altered the monkeys' decision-making strategy.
- Monkeys consistently chose known options when their value met or exceeded the session's average rate of return.
- Monkeys opted for the unknown (riskier) option when the known option's value fell below the average rate of return.
Conclusions:
- Capuchin monkeys employ a rational strategy for quantity judgment, prioritizing the average rate of return over absolute values.
- Decision-making in these tasks is robust against manipulations involving perceived losses and social influences.
- The findings reinforce the understanding of sophisticated decision-making processes in non-human primates.
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