Do robots have goals? How agent cues influence action understanding in non-human primates
Aleksandra Kupferberg1, Stefan Glasauer, Judith M Burkart
1Center for Sensorimotor Research, Clinical Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany.
Behavioural Brain Research
|March 5, 2013
Summary
Marmoset monkeys attribute goals to agents with conspecific-like features, including humans and robots, but not inanimate objects. This suggests goal attribution in primates relies on visual cues rather than prior experience.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Primate Behavior
- Evolutionary Psychology
Background:
- Goal attribution is fundamental for social interaction and action prediction.
- The developmental and evolutionary basis of goal attribution, particularly the roles of experience and visual cues, remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how familiarity, appearance, and movement of different agents influence marmosets' goal attribution capabilities.
- To determine if prior experience or specific visual characteristics are necessary for goal attribution in non-human primates.
Main Methods:
- Four preferential looking time experiments were conducted with marmoset monkeys.
- Marmosets' reactions to goal-directed actions by a human, a conspecific, a robot, and a black box were compared.
Main Results:
- Marmosets attributed goals to the human actor, conspecific, and robot.
- Goal attribution was not observed towards the inanimate black box.
- Marmosets extended goal attribution to unfamiliar agents with conspecific-like visual features.
Conclusions:
- Goal attribution in marmosets depends on visual characteristics (e.g., face, body) rather than specific prior experience with the agent.
- The capacity for goal attribution is evolutionarily ancient and can function with unfamiliar agents exhibiting appropriate visual cues.
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