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Updated: Dec 25, 2025

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Failure to demonstrate self-recognition in gorillas.

David H Ledbetter1, Jeffry A Basen2

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin.

American Journal of Primatology
|March 21, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Gorillas did not show self-recognition in extensive mirror tests. This suggests gorillas may be unique among great apes in lacking the ability for self-awareness.

Keywords:
Gorillamirror imageself-recognition

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Area of Science:

  • Primatology
  • Cognitive Ethology
  • Comparative Psychology

Background:

  • Self-recognition is a key indicator of self-awareness.
  • Great apes like chimpanzees and orangutans demonstrate self-recognition.
  • Gorillas' capacity for self-recognition remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether gorillas exhibit self-recognition through mirror-exposure tests.
  • To compare gorilla mirror-interaction behaviors with those of other great apes.

Main Methods:

  • Two zoo-reared gorillas received extensive (nearly 400 hours) exposure to mirrors.
  • Behavioral observations focused on mirror gazing and social interactions.
  • The Gallup marking paradigm was employed to test for self-recognition.

Main Results:

  • Gorillas displayed initial mirror gazing and social behaviors, which decreased over time.
  • Neither gorilla exhibited self-directed behaviors typically seen in self-recognizing apes.
  • No evidence of self-recognition was found using the marking paradigm.

Conclusions:

  • Extensive mirror exposure did not elicit self-recognition in the studied gorillas.
  • Gorillas may lack the necessary conceptual abilities for self-recognition, unlike other great apes.
  • This finding highlights potential cognitive differences within the great ape family.