Chimpanzee Coordination and Potential Communication in a Two-touchscreen Turn-taking Game

Area of Science:

• Primate behavior
• Animal communication
• Cognitive ethology

Background:

• Growing interest in nonhuman primate group coordination for mutual benefit.
• Chimpanzees demonstrate ability to solve coordination problems.
• Limited evidence on communication during primate coordination.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate how chimpanzee pairs dynamically coordinate actions for joint goals.
• Determine if spontaneous gestures aid in sustaining coordination.
• Examine the role of communication in primate joint action.

Main Methods:

• Presented five chimpanzee pairs with a turn-taking coordination game using computer touch-screens.
• Observed spontaneous gesturing during joint practice.
• Simulated coordination breakdown scenarios to test gesture function.

Main Results:

• Chimpanzees engaged in a turn-taking coordination game.
• Gesture frequency significantly increased during simulated coordination breakdown.
• Spontaneous gestures appear to be used to sustain coordination.

Conclusions:

• Chimpanzees exhibit communicative behaviors, specifically gesturing, to maintain coordination in joint actions.
• Findings suggest that communication plays a role in primate joint action, particularly when coordination is challenged.
• This study provides evidence for the functional role of gestures in sustaining cooperative behavior in chimpanzees.