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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 14, 2026

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device (ALDM) Test Systems

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Published on: May 5, 2015

Chimpanzees' (Pan troglodytes) strategic helping in a collaborative task.

Alicia P Melis¹, Michael Tomasello

¹Behavioural Science Group, Warwick Business School, The University of Warwick, Coventry, West Midlands, UK. alicia.melis@warwick.ac.uk

Biology Letters

|February 22, 2013

Summary

Chimpanzees understand and assist their partners in collaborative tasks. They correctly provide the specific tool needed, indicating cognitive abilities in cooperation, not just motivation.

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Area of Science:

Primate behavior
Cognitive ethology
Comparative psychology

Background:

Cooperation is common in animal species, but the precise cognitive mechanisms are not fully understood.
Understanding the proximate mechanisms of cooperation in non-human animals can provide insights into the evolution of human collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate chimpanzees' understanding of their partner's needs in a collaborative task.
To determine if chimpanzees can identify and provide the correct tool for a partner's specific role.

Main Methods:

A mutualistic food-retrieval task was designed, requiring complementary roles and specific, non-interchangeable tools.
One chimpanzee in each dyad received both tools, and their willingness and accuracy in transferring the correct tool to their partner were measured.

Main Results:

The majority of chimpanzees successfully helped their partner by transferring the needed tool.
Subjects demonstrated the ability to distinguish between the correct and incorrect tools for their partner's role.

Conclusions:

Chimpanzees possess the cognitive capacity to understand and support a partner's specific actions in a collaborative context.
Observed limitations in chimpanzee collaboration may stem more from motivational factors than from cognitive deficits.