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The relationship between event-based prospective memory and ongoing task performance in chimpanzees (Pan

Theodore A Evans¹, Bonnie Perdue², Michael J Beran¹

¹Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.

|November 6, 2014

Summary

Chimpanzees demonstrated prospective memory, remembering future tasks within ongoing activities. This study adapted human methods to show similar cognitive processes in primates, suggesting comparable working memory and prospective memory relationships.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Primatology
Animal Cognition

Background:

Prospective memory, the ability to remember future intentions, is well-studied in humans.
Research suggests prospective memory may exist in nonhuman animals, but testing methods vary.
Existing methods for animal prospective memory differ significantly from human paradigms.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate prospective memory in chimpanzees using a human-like experimental paradigm.
To determine if chimpanzees can disengage from an ongoing task to fulfill a future intention.
To explore the relationship between working memory load and prospective memory in nonhuman primates.

Main Methods:

Chimpanzees performed a matching task with tokens and pictures (ongoing task).
Tokens could also be used to retrieve a hidden food item (prospective memory task).
Experiments manipulated item visibility and task difficulty to assess cognitive load effects.

Main Results:

Chimpanzees successfully used tokens for prospective memory when the target item was hidden.
Performance was unaffected by item visibility in Experiment 2, possibly due to a ceiling effect.
Increased errors in the ongoing task occurred before prospective memory execution in the hidden condition (Experiment 3).

Conclusions:

Chimpanzees exhibit prospective memory capabilities comparable to humans.
The findings suggest a similar interplay between working memory and prospective memory in chimpanzees and humans.
This study provides valuable insights into the evolution of complex cognitive functions across species.