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Do young rhesus macaques know what others see?: A comparative developmental perspective
Alyssa M Arre1, Chelsey S Clark2, Laurie R Santos1
1Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
American Journal of Primatology
|October 1, 2019
Summary
This study investigated theory of mind development in rhesus macaques. Infant monkeys showed different looking patterns than human infants, suggesting visual perspective understanding may require more social experience in non-human primates.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Developmental Psychology
- Primatology
Background:
- Human infants exhibit significant developmental changes in theory of mind (ToM) capabilities.
- Understanding whether these developmental shifts are unique to humans or shared with other species is crucial for evolutionary insights.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the ontogeny of theory of mind capacities in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).
- To determine if developing monkeys understand others' perceptions, specifically predicting an agent's action based on their last-seen object location.
Main Methods:
- A looking-time paradigm was employed with 236 infant and juvenile rhesus macaques.
- Monkeys' looking duration was measured during expected and unexpected conditions of a person reaching for an object.
Main Results:
- A significant interaction between monkey age and task performance was observed (p = .014).
- Juvenile macaques showed a nonsignificant trend towards human infant-like performance (p = .09).
- Infant macaques displayed a nonsignificant trend in the opposite direction (p = .06).
Conclusions:
- Young rhesus macaques demonstrate interest in other agents' perceptions.
- Developing monkeys appear capable of making predictions based on visual perspective, though less robustly than humans.
- Understanding of others' perceptions may emerge early but potentially requires more social interaction in non-human primates.
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