Do they know or just do it? Investigating implicit and explicit sequence learning by capuchin monkeys, human adults...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Comparative Cognition
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Humans exhibit dual-process capabilities for learning sequential regularities, encompassing both implicit (unconscious) and explicit (conscious) knowledge acquisition.
• Understanding whether non-human primates share this dual-processing capacity is crucial for comparative cognition research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate implicit and explicit sequence learning in capuchin monkeys, human children, and human adults.
• To compare the sequence learning abilities across different species and age groups using a non-verbal task.

Main Methods:

• A non-verbal touchscreen task was employed to assess spatial sequence learning.
• Participants included capuchin monkeys (n=12), human adults (n=12), and children aged 5-10 years (n=64).
• Conscious awareness of learned sequences was evaluated using a forced-choice sequence completion test.

Main Results:

• All participant groups performed above chance in the sequence completion test, indicating some level of sequence learning.
• Human adults who consciously recognized the regularities achieved ceiling performance.
• Monkeys and children's performance suggests implicit learning, but further research is needed to confirm explicit learning capabilities.

Conclusions:

• The study provides preliminary evidence for sequence learning in capuchin monkeys and children, with potential differences in implicit versus explicit processing compared to adults.
• Future research should focus on refining methods to definitively disentangle implicit and explicit learning mechanisms in non-human primates and young children.