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Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device ALDM Test Systems

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Monkeys choose, but do not learn, through exclusion.

Regina Paxton Gazes¹, Nicholas W Chee², Robert R Hampton³

¹Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Department of Psychology and Program in Animal Behavior Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA.

Animal Behavior and Cognition

|September 1, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Rhesus monkeys can choose novel objects using exclusion, but this strategy does not aid their learning of new associations. This suggests choice and learning by exclusion are distinct cognitive processes.

Keywords:

choice by exclusion fast mapping primate word learning

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Science
Comparative Psychology
Animal Behavior

Background:

Children learn new words by excluding known objects when a novel name is introduced.
This "choice by exclusion" strategy is also observed in various animal species, including monkeys.
However, it remains unclear if animals truly learn new associations through this exclusion mechanism.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether rhesus monkeys dissociate "choice by exclusion" from "learning by exclusion" in a paired-associate task.
To determine if exclusion facilitates the learning of new associations in non-human primates.

Main Methods:

A paired-associate task was designed to assess choice and learning in rhesus monkeys.
Experiment 1: Monkeys were presented with a novel sample image and a group of comparison images (known and novel) to test choice by exclusion.
Experiment 2: Monkeys learned new sets of paired associates using either trial and error, or a combination of exclusion and trial and error.

Main Results:

Monkeys successfully demonstrated "choice by exclusion" by selecting the novel comparison image when presented with a novel sample image.
Despite near-perfect "choice by exclusion" accuracy, monkeys did not learn new paired associates faster using exclusion compared to trial and error alone.
Learning occurred through trial and error or a combination of exclusion and trial and error, not solely through exclusion.

Conclusions:

Rhesus monkeys exhibit "choice by exclusion" but do not "learn by exclusion" in the context of paired-associate learning.
This study highlights the critical need to differentiate between the acts of choosing and learning when examining exclusion mechanisms in word learning and cognitive studies.
The findings suggest that while exclusion can guide attention, it may not directly facilitate the formation of new associative memories in these primates.